UKTV draws level with C5 and Sky channels

UK pay and free TV broadcaster UKTV’s audience reach is now close to that of terrestrial broadcaster Channel 5’s full portfolio of channels and all of pay TV operator Sky’s wholly-owned channels, including sports and movies channels, according to the company.

UKTV said its share of viewing has grown by 30% to 5.27% in five years according to official BARB data. Christmas 2015 was UKTV’s most successful Christmas on record, including the network’s highest daily share, while on-demand service UKTV Play saw a 26% increase in views year on year.

On the advertising front, UKTV delivered 9.27% share of commercial impacts as of December 26, putting marginally ahead of the Channel 5 portfolio (9.26%) and Sky branded channels (9.25%), according to the company.

UKTV attributed its ratings success in 2015 to increased investment in original programming, including shows such as Storage Hunters UK Celebrity Special and Dave Gorman Modern Life is Goodish.

Comedy channel Dave retained its place as the number one non-public service broadcast channe l in the UK last year, while Drama grew by 24% to 0.97%, making it the number two non-PSB channel.