UKTV to make W channel free to air..
Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2022 9:46 pm
UKTV is to take its flagship entertainment channel W free-to-air and include its content as part of its UKTV Play streaming service.
The BBC Studios-owned broadcaster says the move will “significantly increase the footprint of W and its programme offering”. Sister channels Dave and Yesterday are already free-to-air.
Over the next few weeks viewers will be able to sample shows including Alex Jones: Making Babies, Rochelle Humes: Interior Designer in the Making, Nurses on the Ward and Dating With My Mates, alongside new series of returning favourites Stacey Dooley Sleeps Over, MasterChef USA, Australia and Canada, and Inside the Ambulance.
W will launch on Freeview (channel 25) on Monday 28 March. It will remain available to Virgin Media and Sky subscribers
Steve North, UKTV’s genre general manager for comedy and entertainment, said: “We are confident that we’ve spotted a gap in the free-to-air market for W to fill; providing premium entertainment for people with busy lives who want to engage with shows that shine a spotlight on personal stories from everyday lives. W’s launch on UKTV’s direct-to-consumer VOD service, UKTV Play, will also mean that shows are more accessible than ever.”
W will also get a new logo and is repositioning itself as the “home of genuine human moments”, leading with the tagline, “Life Unfiltered” to connect with its female skewing 25-44 target audience...
The BBC Studios-owned broadcaster says the move will “significantly increase the footprint of W and its programme offering”. Sister channels Dave and Yesterday are already free-to-air.
Over the next few weeks viewers will be able to sample shows including Alex Jones: Making Babies, Rochelle Humes: Interior Designer in the Making, Nurses on the Ward and Dating With My Mates, alongside new series of returning favourites Stacey Dooley Sleeps Over, MasterChef USA, Australia and Canada, and Inside the Ambulance.
W will launch on Freeview (channel 25) on Monday 28 March. It will remain available to Virgin Media and Sky subscribers
Steve North, UKTV’s genre general manager for comedy and entertainment, said: “We are confident that we’ve spotted a gap in the free-to-air market for W to fill; providing premium entertainment for people with busy lives who want to engage with shows that shine a spotlight on personal stories from everyday lives. W’s launch on UKTV’s direct-to-consumer VOD service, UKTV Play, will also mean that shows are more accessible than ever.”
W will also get a new logo and is repositioning itself as the “home of genuine human moments”, leading with the tagline, “Life Unfiltered” to connect with its female skewing 25-44 target audience...