
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
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
09/10/2026
September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026
New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
29/09/2026
Oak View Group (OVG) has announced Cisco as an Official Technology Partner, with plans to standardize infrastructure across its venue network on Cisco solutions...
29/09/2026
SportsNet Pittsburgh (SNP) won three honors at the 2026 Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards.
Program awards went to Bucs BP in the Sports Program Live category (produced ...
29/09/2026
The Professional Women's Hockey League has announced home openers for all 12 teams for the 2026-27 season, along with a broadcast partnership with CBC under...
29/09/2026
Manifold technologies has been recognized as a contributor to the Media eXchange...
29/09/2026
FuboTV has announced My Local Sports, allowing subscribers in select markets to add their local regional sports network (RSN) as an add-on to a Fubo Sports subs...
29/09/2026
Asian News International (ANI), a wire agency and video news provider based in India, has deployed Grass Valley's AMPP Media Operating System and Framelight...
29/09/2026
South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has deployed Ikegami UHK-X600 cameras as part of an upgrade to IP-based production infrastructure. The deployment ...
29/09/2026
REMI, REMCO models will drive the bulk of the broadcaster's NHL productions ...
29/09/2026
Three years in, the facility is supporting more centralized race production, com...
29/09/2026
NBC, Peacock, and NBSN are carrying all four Wild Card series with a production ...
29/09/2026
19 Nonfiction Projects Across All Stages of Production to Receive More Than $1 million in Support as Documentary Film Program Approaches 25th Anniversary
LOS ...
29/09/2026
Two new plug-ins launch alongside updated bundles
Zynaptiq have just announced the launch of two new plug-ins, alongside new and improved versions of two of...
29/09/2026
All-in-one bus processor revealed
Wes Audio's ng product range has come a long way since it was first introduced, and now includes a tasty selection of ...
29/09/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Ikegami announces that the South African Broadcasting Corporation, SABC, has chosen Ikegami UHK-X600 camera systems as part of an advance to IP-based operation ...
29/09/2026
Blendkit Offers 20% Discount to Celebrate Crossing 150K Asset Milestone
Brie Clayton September 29, 2026
0 Comments
Blendkit, the largest 3D asset libr...
29/09/2026
Interactive streaming specialist Ease Live supported more than 76.5 million fan sessions across three major European media operators during this summers FIFA Wo...
29/09/2026
Ease Live has added support for VAST (Video Ad Serving Template) to its graphical overlay technology, opening up new ways for broadcasters, streamers and rights...
29/09/2026
Rise AV has announced the launch of the inaugural Rise AV Awards, a new global awards programme celebrating the women, advocates and organisations across the AV...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Clear-Com announced that First Baptist Nashville has upgraded its production communications with a Clear-Com intercom solution as part of a comprehensive sanct...
29/09/2026
Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K Captured Action Shots for Sketch
Brie Clayton September 28, 2026
0 Comments
Camera's portable design and dynamic range...
29/09/2026
Kean Production Services Deploys AJA ColorBox to Deliver Consistent, Accurate Co...
29/09/2026
Berklee Alumni and Faculty Nominated for the 2026 Latin Grammy Awards A total of 28 Berklee alumni and faculty earned nominations across 20 categories this ye...
29/09/2026
Berklee's K-Pop & Beyond Explores Connections Between K-Pop and Hip-Hop Now in its fifth year, the series brings together artists, industry leaders, and s...
29/09/2026
We tend to think we live in a digital world, with hopes and fears around artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing, data centres and the next big technolo...
29/09/2026
Today, in partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Apple relea...
29/09/2026
Final Cut Camera, the professional filming app for iPhone, receives a major upda...
29/09/2026
RT lyric fm is proud to announce the annual Choirs for Christmas competition callout. Warm up those vocal chords and join us on RT lyric fm for a celebration ...
28/09/2026
The NHL has announced Adobe as an Official Creative, Marketing and AI Partner beginning with the 2026-27 season. The partnership will provide the league and its...
28/09/2026
MultiDyne will exhibit at CABSAT 2026 (October 5-7, Dubai Exhibition Centre), showcasing an expanded technology portfolio following its June 2026 acquisition of...
28/09/2026
ARRI and HONOR have announced the HONOR Magic9 Pro Max, a flagship smartphone carrying ARRI branding on the device and packaging as the first product-level expr...
28/09/2026
Net Insight has added the Nimbra 1020G to its pan-Asian live media trial network, giving customers and partners in the region a way to evaluate ST 2110 and JPEG...
28/09/2026
Vindral has been named a recipient of a 2026 Technology and Engineering Emmy Award by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in the category of We...
28/09/2026
Interra Systems will exhibit at CABSAT 2026 (Stand B2-37, Dubai Exhibition Centre, October 5-7), demonstrating its BATON QC platform, ORION monitoring solutions...
28/09/2026
Two years into its new production facility, the TOUR is expanding centralized wo...