UKTV Play reveals new YouView player experience to increase user enjoyment and engagement

Wednesday 15 March 2017 Britains biggest multichannel broadcaster, UKTV, today launches a new player on the YouView platform for its fast-growing TV on demand service UKTV Play.

From today, YouView viewers will have access to the significantly-updated UKTV Play service, which offers a huge selection of TV shows from UKTVs Dave, Really, Yesterday and Drama channels.

Designed to make viewers experience more enjoyable and personalised, the reimagined VOD player features a smart new home screen with tailored recommendations and top shows from across the four channels. Collections bring together specially curated themes, and viewers can also collate their favourite episodes to watch later. The all-new predictive search makes finding a programme or collection extra easy.

UKTVs Head of Digital Products, Oliver Davies, said,

Were really pleased to bring our new UKTV Play experience to YouView. As with our web, mobile and other set top box apps, viewers now have at-a-glance access to programmes across all the channels, with both hand-picked favourites and personalised recommendations based on what viewers have watched. We hope the new ways of discovering programmes such as predictive search, channel filtering, bookmarking and A-Z list, together with the improved responsiveness, will make the service even more of a pleasure to use.

This update, which follows YouViews reengineering and redesign of the entire platform known as Next Generation YouView, is the latest in a line of carefully-designed product redesigns from UKTV Play, all based on user research data and A/B testing. Since the new app for mobile devices launched in February, views have increased by 38%*. When the broadcaster revealed a new UKTVplay.co.uk desktop site last year it contributed to a sharp, 50% increase in views.

UKTV Play continues to grow year-on-year. Last week the service had its best seven-day period ever, with total views up 56% vs the year average**, helped by new content including UKTV Originals Taskmaster, Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled and Dramas The Brokenwood Mysteries.

The service boasts a vast and diverse catalogue of quality shows, including exclusive UKTV Originals such as Red Dwarf X and Dara O Briains Go 8 Bit. UKTV Originals perform particularly well on the service, with the network seeing 179% growth in direct-to-consumer streams of originals in 2016 compared to 2015.

END

*38% increase in views during the 24-day period post-update (12th Feb - 7 March) vs. the 24-day period pre-update (19th Jan - 11th Feb).

** 56% increase in views for 6-12th March, vs the 52 week average (Wk10 2016 - Wk09 2017)

For more information please contact:

Lara Feinstein, Network Communications Executive

NOTES TO EDITORS

About UKTV

UKTV is the biggest multichannel broadcaster in the UK.

The award-winning independent has eleven imaginative brands - UKTV Play, Dave, W, Gold, Alibi, Yesterday, Drama, Really, Home, Eden and Good Food. These include the two most popular non-PSB channels in the UK and account for nearly 10% of the British commercial TV market. The companys most recent financial results showed record-breaking year-end revenue of £319m and EBITDA of £82m. It invested £148m in programming and related launches last year, and is becoming an increasingly significant investor in UK creativity.

UKTV has a truly innovative model, curating brand-defining commissions, high-profile acquisitions and the very best of BBC, alongside programmes originally shown on ITV and Channel 4. The network embraces technology to deliver inspired channels to audiences through Freeview, Sky, Virgin Media, BT, TalkTalk, YouView, Freesat, Amazon Fire and UKTV Play, and distributes its highly valued original programmes to 200 territories.

Now celebrating over 20 years at the forefront of digital television, UKTV - an independent commercial joint venture between BBC Worldwide and Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. (SNI) - is proud to be the only British television broadcaster in The Sunday Times top 100 companies list.

corporate.uktv.co.uk / press.uktv.co.uk / @uktv_press

About UKTV Play UKTV Play is the fast-growing on demand TV service where you can watch the TV shows you love from Dave, Yesterday, Really and Drama wherever you want, whenever you want. The good news? We love them too.

Love digging into history or laughing out loud to new, British comedy you cant see anywhere else? So do we. Enjoy an engrossing, nail-biting true crime story or powerful real life documentaries? No problem. In the mood to luxuriate in a decadent period drama or hang on the edge of your seat during a pulsating crime drama? Were with you. Theres so much brilliant TV on UKTV Play - Taskmaster, Red Dwarf, Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled, Zapped, Suits, Crackanory, Dara O Briains Go 8 Bit, Most Haunted, New Tricks, Pride and Prejudice, Call The Midwife, The Bill and Birds of a Feather - to name a few, so youll never be stuck for something to watch.

With the UKTV Play app you can stream your favourite TV for free via your computer, tablet or smart phone. It has never been easier to watch the things you love most, so download the app and delve in.

You can also put your feet up and watch on the telly, thanks to Virgin TV, YouView, Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick. If youre an M+ subscriber on Virgin Media or BT TV customer, shows from other great UKTV channels - Gold, W, Alibi, Good Food, Home and Eden - are on the menu as well.

uktvplay.co.uk / @UKTVPlay on Twitter

About YouView YouView is obsessed with finding new ways to transform and improve the daily viewing experience of UK audiences. Launched in 2012, we are a joint venture between BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, BT, TalkTalk and Arqiva - some of the UKs leading media businesses. Weve already unlocked a world of content and services for over two and a half million households, combining Live TV a

LINK:	http://corporate.uktv.co.uk/news/article/uktv-play-reveals-new-youview...
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