Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Viewers crown UKTV Originals their favourite shows on the network in 2018

04/01/2019

Taskmaster on Dave

Friday 4 January 2019

UKTV Originals topped 2018 ratings on six of UKTVs channels - Dave, W, Gold, Drama, Yesterday and Really - and on UKTV Play

Top three shows on UKTVs network were UKTV Originals - Taskmaster, Death on the Tyne and Murder on the Blackpool Express

Emmy and BAFTA nominated Taskmaster was the most watched show on UKTVs free on demand service, UKTV Play, followed by UKTV Originals Judge Romesh and Jon Richardson: Ultimate Worrier

UKTV Play saw a 36% increase in views year-on-year, generating over 140 million views in 2018 and attracting 1.8 million registered users

UKTVs commissioning strategy continues to bear fruit with UKTV Originals driving younger viewers to UKTV Play and remaining the most watched programmes on the network in 2018.

Darren Childs, UKTV CEO, said:

Our strategy of creating distinctive, ambitious and compelling new shows is continuing to pay off. Im incredibly proud that for the first time, UKTV Originals were the top rating shows on six of UKTVs channels and on UKTV Play last year. The breadth and depth of our channels offer a rich mix of opportunities for advertisers, and UKTV Play, which generated over 140 million views and attracted 1.8 million registered users in 2018, provides a data rich environment for targeted advertising.

UKTV Originals and Channels In 2018 UKTV worked with more independent producers than ever before and produced or developed over 120 new shows. The broadcaster built on its commissioning success with UKTV Originals becoming the most watched shows on six of UKTVs channels - Taskmaster (Dave), Emma Willis: Delivering Babies (W), Death on the Tyne (Gold), Murder on the Blackpool Express (Drama), Abandoned Engineering (Yesterday), Inside the Ambulance (Really).

__

Death on the Tyne on Gold

On Dave, UKTVs biggest commissioning channel, four out of the top five shows were UKTV Originals - Taskmaster, Jon Richardson: Ultimate Worrier, Judge Romesh and Zapped. Taskmaster was also the most popular show across the network with the most recent series (seven) becoming the most successful to date, with an average of 1.5 million viewers per episode.

Ws commissioning strategy continues to mature and new UKTV Original, Emma Willis: Delivering Babies, was the most watched show on the channel in 2018 (753k). It was followed by Inside the Ambulance which continues to attract a high number of viewers (386k for series three and 359k for series four).

Yesterday grew its share by an impressive 11.4%. and UKTV Original, Abandoned Engineering, was the most popular show on the channel.

Richard Watsham, UKTVs Director of Commissioning, said:

UKTV is increasing investment into originations yet again and in partnership with top talent, both in front of and behind the camera, its enabling us to strengthen our catalogue of popular and critically acclaimed shows.

This year our aim is to grow original output even further with a series of network firsts. Flack, our first full blown drama series premieres on W in February. Well shortly be in production for a number of crime dramas for Alibi, and Steve Backshall will bring high octane specialist factual to Dave with the stunning Expedition.

We want to build on our strong talent relationships too, Stacey Dooley Sleeps Over kicks off a revitalized slate for W which still has slots to fill and on Dave were looking for female fronted comedy entertainment shows to compliment other high performing hits, led by Taskmaster.

TV On Demand In 2018, UKTV Play continued to grow and had 140 million views across all platforms - a 36% increase on the previous year. In less than 12 months since mandatory registration was introduced, over 1.8 million users have signed up to the service, a third of whom are aged 16-34.

UKTV Originals were the most popular shows on UKTV Play with episodes of Taskmaster, Judge Romesh and Jon Richardson: Ultimate Worrier taking the top three spots. They also appealed to a young demographic with 69% of registered viewers who watched Taskmaster being aged 16-34, 45% for Judge Romesh and 63% for Jon Richardson: Ultimate Worrier. In addition, Yianni Supercar Customiser, drew in a large 16-34-year-old audience with 68% of viewers falling into this age range.

In 2018, UKTV also increased distribution of its on demand service. UKTV Play launched on Now TV and Roku streaming players, Freesat, Samsung TV and Go Media.

2019 Brand new programmes coming to UKTV this year include Ws scripted drama Flack, starring Oscar winner Anna Paquin, and a six-part series with Stacey Dooley, Stacey Dooley Sleeps Over. Dave sees the return of scripted comedy Porters, now as a full six-part series and with the original cast joined by the BAFTA nominated actor, Daniel Mays. Sliced, a new three-part comedy series written by Samson Kayo and Phil Bowker follows in the first half of this year, along with a ten-part adventure series, Expedition with Steve Backshall, as well as new series of Taskmaster and Jon Richardson: Ultimate Worrier. And, Sir David Jason presents his own travelogue - David Jason: Planes, Trains & Automobiles on Gold.

__

Expedition with Steve Backshall on Dave

Stats Measurement

All data BARB Adults 16+ except programme data which is individuals.

Top performing programme lists are consolidated viewing, BARB consolidated ratings includes catch-up, or time-shifted viewing that happened up to seven days after the original broadcast.

Programme viewing stats are all Total Consumption unless otherwise stated. Total Consumption is the measurement of all viewing to a single premiere linear transmission of a show. It encompasses the overnight, PVR, VOD, D2C and paid, narrative repeats within seven days of the broadcast window, and the 8-28 day PVR viewing within BARB.

UKTV Play figures include third party broadcasters and UKTVs own platform data.

UKTV Play top ratin
LINK: https://corporate.uktv.co.uk/news/article/viewers-crown-uktv-originals...
See more stories from uktv

Most recent headlines

09/11/2025

Dalet Unveils Agentic AI Media Workflows at IBC2025

Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...

06/10/2025

France Tlvisions Wins Prestigious 2025 EBU Technology & Innovation Award in Groundbreaking Collaboration with Dalet

France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...

13/09/2025

Cox Media Group's Misti Turnbull Inducted into the NATAS Silver Circle

ATLANTA Cox Media Group has announced that the company's vice president of news, Misty Turnbull has been inducted into the National Academy of Television Ar...

13/09/2025

Shotoku Debuts Swoop Cranes for Studio Robotics at IBC2025

AMSTERDAM Shotoku Broadcast Systems, a major developer of robotic systems, has announced plans to take studio robotics to the next level at IBC2025 by debuting ...

13/09/2025

Riedel Unveils Ultra-Light Bolero Mini Wireless Intercom...

At IBC2025 in Amsterdam, Riedel Communications unveiled Bolero Mini, the company's lightest and flattest wireless intercom beltpack to date. Designed to del...

13/09/2025

Shotoku Takes Studio Robotics to New Heights with IBC Deb...

Shotoku Broadcast Systems, the international developer of dependable, userfriendly robotic systems, is taking studio robotics to the next level at IBC 2025 with...

13/09/2025

The Bitmovin Video Developer Report 2025-26 Reveals Cost...

Bitmovin, a leading provider of video streaming solutions, today released the 9th annual Video Developer Report 2025/26, offering an in-depth look at the evolvi...

13/09/2025

Bitmovin and StreamShark Partner to Deliver High Quality...

Bitmovin, the leading provider of video streaming solutions, today announced a strategic partnership with StreamShark, the trusted video platform for enterprise...

13/09/2025

Ikegami Announces VFE-P711AD 7-inch OLED Multiformat On-C...

Ikegami has chosen IBC 2025 in Amsterdam as the launch venue for a major addition to its range of viewfinders. The new VFE-P711AD is a 7-inch high resolution OL...

13/09/2025

KitBash3D and Greyscalegorilla Announce Merger

Founder-led Merger to Fast Track R&D, Asset Library Upgrades, Tools and More; No Disruption to Pricing or Support for Users Today, KitBash3D, a pioneer in 3D a...

13/09/2025

Mavis Puts Itself at the Heart of Mobile Production

With NDI certification, Atomos integration, Grass Valley collaboration, and a new Monitor app, at this year's IBC, Mavis is showcasing a series of powerful...

13/09/2025

Creamsource Expands Vortex Family with Vortex24 Soft

Creamsource, maker of artisan LED lighting for film and television, has unveiled the Vortex24 Soft (V24S), a 1950W native soft light and the largest soft source...

13/09/2025

DAZN streams 2025 FIFA Club World Cup to billions of fans...

When international sports streaming service DAZN secured the global rights to the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup football tournament, it set out to deliver an unmatch...

13/09/2025

Riedel Communications Acquires hi human interface

Riedel Communications today announced the acquisition of hi human interface from Broadcast Solutions, bringing a powerful, vendor-agnostic control system to it...

13/09/2025

RTW chooses Calrec as technology partner for its AI ready...

Building on its long-term relationship with audio metering specialist RTW, Calrec has integrated the company's brand new TMxCore metering platform across it...

13/09/2025

Calrec unveils 48 fader Argo M at IBC2025 and demonstrate...

Calrec is expanding its family of future-ready self-contained Argo M control surfaces at IBC2025, with the addition of a brand new powerful 48-fader console. Co...

13/09/2025

September 11, 2025

Researchers find brain region that fuels compulsive drinking Study by Scripps Research scientists shows how the brain learns to seek alcohol for relief, not jus...

12/09/2025

College Football Kickoff 2025: Fox Sports Ups Look as Canon, Sony Power Shallow Focus Coverage

College Football Kickoff 2025: Fox Sports Ups Look as Canon, Sony Power Shallow ...

12/09/2025

ABC/ESPN Excited For WNBA Postseason Coverage In Revamped Format

ABC/ESPN Excited For WNBA Postseason Coverage In Revamped FormatThe Finals moves to a best-of-seven series in 2025By Mark J Burns, SVG Contributor Friday, Sep...

12/09/2025

Rabbit Trap Pulsates With Folklore Dread

(L-R) Jade Croot, Rosy McEwen, and Bryn Chainey attend the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Rabbit Trap at Eccles Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park ...

12/09/2025

Spotify's The Drop Weekly' Brings You the Week in New Releases, Straight From Our Editors

For fans, we know how important it is to stay plugged into music culture and dis...

12/09/2025

Agama and Consult Red announce RDK Accelerator integration

Link ping, Sweden and Shipley, United Kingdom, September 12, 2025 - Agama, the expert in video observability and analytics for service quality and customer expe...

12/09/2025

IBC2025 Opens for Business

IBC2025 began on Sept. 12, with exhibits and conferences running through Sept. 15 at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Center. Explore the full TV Tech coverage of t...

12/09/2025

The Best Fictional Bands (and the Artists Who Make Them Great)

The Best Fictional Bands (and the Artists Who Make Them Great) With Spinal Tap II: The End Continues hitting theaters and songs from KPop Demon Hunters ruling...

12/09/2025

Tom Baldassare Joins Advanced Systems Group

Industry veteran Tom Baldassare has joined Advanced Systems Group, LLC (ASG), a technology and services provider for media creatives and content owners, as a Se...

12/09/2025

Maxon Unveils a Brand New Look for its Growing Family of...

Maxon, maker of powerful, approachable software solutions for creators working in 2D and 3D design, motion graphics, visual effects, and more, today announced a...

12/09/2025

PlayBox Neo US Partners with AI-Media to Deliver Scalable...

PlayBox Neo, a leading provider of media playout solutions, has partnered with AI-Media, pioneering developers of AI-powered captioning technology, to integrate...

12/09/2025

Dalet Unveils Agentic AI Media Workflows at IBC2025

Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...

12/09/2025

Keepit and Ingram Micro launch strategic sales agreement...

New alliance strengthens the IT channel in Germany and Switzerland in protecting business-critical SaaS data. Keepit, the world s only independent, cloud-nativ...

12/09/2025

Mediaset selects Fincons Group AllRights to evolve rights...

Fincons Group, an international IT business consultancy and systems integrator company with more than 40 years of experience in the market, is proud to announce...

12/09/2025

EVS Acquires XD motion

Following its acquisition of Telemetrics, EVS continues its push into robotics with an announcement at IBC2025 that it is acquiring XD motion....

12/09/2025

Televisa Executive Joins NABA Board

TORONTO The North American Broadcasters Association (NABA) has announced the appointment of Eduardo Ruiz Sanchez, deputy director, broadcast operations at Telev...

12/09/2025

Ed Miller, Former SBE President, Has Died

Ed Miller, a longtime broadcast engineer in Ohio and a former national president of the Society of Broadcast Engineers, has died....

12/09/2025

IBC2025: Dynamic HDR Gains Traction

AMSTERDAM At this year's IBC2025, the Advanced HDR by Technicolor initiative will be pushing broadcasters to adopt a more dynamic, frame-by-frame conversion...

12/09/2025

Granville opens up one last time for U&GOLD in Open All Hours: Inside Out

Feature-length retrospective from Studio Crook to air in 2026 Sir David Jason returns to the nation's favourite comedy channel, U&GOLD, for Open All Hours:...

12/09/2025

Bob Geldof to receive Lifetime Achievement Award at the Sky Arts Awards 2025

Friday 12 September 2025 The Boomtown Rats, Nyah Grace, Soweto Kinch, Royal Ballet and Madness also announced to perform at the ceremony on Tuesday Sky today ...

12/09/2025

Riedel Unveils Ultra-Light Bolero Mini Wireless Intercom Beltpack

Wuppertal September 12, 2025 Riedel Unveils Ultra-Light Bolero Mini Wireless Intercom BeltpackAt IBC2025 in Amsterdam, Riedel Communications unveiled Bolero M...

12/09/2025

Riedel Communications Acquires hi human interface

Wuppertal September 12, 2025 Riedel Communications Acquires hi human interfaceRiedel Communications today announced the acquisition of hi human interface fro...

12/09/2025

New International Crime Series Road (WT)' Explores Twisted Murders Across Borders

Back to All News New International Crime Series Road (WT)' Explores Twiste...

12/09/2025

First Look: Thai Crime Drama Everybody Loves Me When I'm Dead' Premieres October 14

Back to All News First Look: Thai Crime Drama Everybody Loves Me When I'm ...

12/09/2025

Netflix Marks 10 Years in Japan, Announces Three New Series That Will Keep You Hitting The Next Episode

Back to All News Netflix Marks 10 Years in Japan, Announces Three New Series Th...

12/09/2025

What Is CORE+ Technologyand How Does It Elevate Church Sound?

CORE+ virtually removes distortion, setting a new standard for church sound and giving worship teams the clarity and confidence they need. Read the full artic...

12/09/2025

Margot Robbie, Colin Farrell, Mary Robinson and Conor Murray amongst guests on Late Late Show season opener

The Late Late Show is back with a bang after the summer break, and Patrick Kielt...

12/09/2025

Another jam-packed weekend of live, free-to-air Sport across RT

The World Athletics Championships, Ireland v France in the Women's Rugby World Cup quarter-final, the Irish Champions Festival, and two Sports Direct Men...

12/09/2025

Katie Hannon explores the shelves of Ireland's National Archives in new series

The Records Show starts Sunday at 6.30pm on RT One and RT Player. Katie Hanno...

11/09/2025

Report: Busy Live Sports Streaming Execs Have Low-hanging Fruit' in Front of Them

Report: Busy Live Sports Streaming Execs Have Low-hanging Fruit' in Front o...

11/09/2025

Inside Game Creek Video's Big Week as Ovation, Flagship Make NFL Debuts

Inside Game Creek Video's Big Week as Ovation, Flagship Make NFL DebutsBy Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director Thursday, September 11, 2025 - 7:00 am Pr...

11/09/2025

NFL Kickoff 2025: Prime Sports Starts New Season at Lambeau Field; Sets Sights on Holiday Matchups, Second-Ever Playoff Game

NFL Kickoff 2025: Prime Sports Starts New Season at Lambeau Field; Sets Sights o...

11/09/2025

College Football Kickoff 2025: NBC Sports Pushes HDR Image Quality, Aerial Drones for Big Ten Saturday Night' and Notre Dame on NBC'

College Football Kickoff 2025: NBC Sports Pushes HDR Image Quality, Aerial Drone...