Dave bulks up its lineup with Ultimate Strongman

21st October 2016 Broadcast Digital Awards entertainment channel of the year, Dave today announces it will be exclusively showing the first ever Ultimate Strongman: World Championship on 30th December.

For the very first time, the Ultimate Strongman World Championship will be a live event in front of a mass audience, at Newcastles Metro Radio Arena on 10th December. Twelve of the worlds biggest and strongest athletes will compete over five events, including deadlift world record holder Eddie The Beast Hall, Europes current Strongest Man Laurence Shahlaei, and four-time Worlds Strongest Man Zydrunas Savickas.

The Under-25 event, Ultimate Strongman: Next Generation, which took place in Canada earlier this year, will also be shown exclusively on Dave on 29th December.

The presentation team for Ultimate Strongman (2x120) is a combination of experienced broadcasters and former Strongmen, with hosting from Matt Bell and Jamie Reeves and commentary by Nick Halling and Svend Karlsen. Coverage of Ultimate Strongman is provided by Ultimate Strongman Productions Ltd, and executive producer for UKTV is Arch Dyson.

The announcement further extends Daves sport coverage following live boxing, darts and cricket events earlier this year.

Richard Watsham, director of commissioning for UKTV, said,

The inaugural Ultimate Strongman: World Championship is a great opportunity for us to shape a new kind of strongman event for television. Its going to be a lively mix of sport and entertainment with high production values and an outstanding lineup of athletes. The perfect antidote to Christmas.

Steve North, Dave general manager, said,

Were hugely excited to have Ultimate Strongman on our channel. Its another new step as we continue to bring more sport to free-to-air television, and is sure to entertain the whole family and be a great end to an excellent year for Dave.

David McConachie, executive producer for Ultimate Strongman Productions, said,

Were very excited to be working with such a forward thinking broadcaster as Dave. These shows embrace a bold new format for strongman, which has always been such a strong genre on television. Big crowds, great lighting and effects plus the biggest stars in the sport will all create what we believe will be a fantastic experience for the viewer.

Ultimate Strongman: Next Generation will air on Dave on Thursday 29th December. Ultimate Strongman: World Championship will air on Dave on Friday 30th December.

ENDS

Notes to Editors: For further information please contact Ben.Duncan@UKTV.co.uk

About Dave Sky 111/246, Virgin 128/194, Freeview 12, BT & TalkTalk 12 On demand on Sky, Virgin and UKTV Play

Daves had a haircut and shave in recent years as it grows from awkward teenager to fully-fledged commissioner of new and original shows. And its not just comedy these days but entertainment and even some knock-out live sport. Hit UKTV Original commissions include Taskmaster, Dave Gorman Modern Life is Goodish, Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled and Crackanory, all laden with the biggest names in British comedy. Dave enjoyed critical success with two series of Hoff the Record, a mockumentary ensemble comedy led by the living legend David Hasselhoff.

As well as home-grown delights Dave also goes stateside, cherry-picking cult US Shows including the sharp-witted and sharp-suited Suits and much-loved Parks and Recreation along with Emmy-nominated The Last Man on Earth. This all contributed to Daves award win at the 2016 Broadcast Digital Awards for Best Entertainment Channel.

Dave is the UKs most watched non-PSB channel broadcasting to over 27 million people per month, and viewers continue to enjoy the ludicrously addictive American Pickers and UK remake of Storage Hunters. The channel continues to grow its original commissioning slate with political show Unspun With Matt Forde, Red Dwarf XI, Dara O Briains Go 8 Bit, fantasy comedy Zapped! and Celebrity Storage Hunters airing later this year.

www.joindave.co.uk / @join_dave

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 9.31% 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 its 23rd year 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

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