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Some of the most popular free-to-air channels in the UK will be rebranded on July 16 as part of a major shake-up across Freeview, Freely, Sky TV set-top boxes, and Virgin TV 360. UKTV — the British brand behind the likes of Dave, W, and Yesterday — will rename every channel in its line-up.
Starting this week, Dave, Yesterday, Drama, and Wwill be rebranded to U&Dave, U&Yesterday, U&Drama, and U&W. The channel numbers will not be altered as part of the shake-up.
Alongside the U-heavy new names, U (née UKTV) has promised an additional 1,500 hours of content, bringing the total to 8,500 hours across the free-to-air channels on Freeview, newly-launched Freely, Sky Glass, Sky Stream, Sky Q, EE TV, Virgin Stream, Virgin TV 360, and other popular set-top boxes.
Exclusive new shows, including a brand-new gameshow from Jimmy Carr and a reboot of Bergerac, are included in the hundreds of hours of incoming new content from U.
Freeview always recommends that users retune their devices to guarantee that all of the changes have been applied. Some Freeview devices will retune automatically once an update is available.
You won't need one of these boxes to watch the latest shows, docu-series, and films from UKTV's raft of channels, since everything is available to stream from its new website — u.co.uk.
UKTV channels will be renamed under a new all-encompassing U brand name, with all channels reworked to fit the new naming convention
UKTV PRESS OFFICE
UKTV was launched in the 1990s as a joint venture between BBC Worldwide and Thames Television. It was designed to leverage the BBC archive to bring classic shows to a new audience.
Channels like Dave, which quickly gained popularity based on the strength of the back catalogue, were regularly mocked on shows like Have I Got News For You and Top Gear for the barrage of decades-old repeats that filled its schedule.
In recent years, UKTV has pivoted to focus on more original shows. Hits like Taskmaster were launched exclusively on free-to-air channels like Dave before being acquired by Channel 4.
The free-to-air broadcaster faces increased competition, with the likes of Tubi now available in the UK with thousands of films and series available to stream on-demand for free.
UKTV also has a number of premium offerings — Gold, which is dedicated to classic British comedy, Alibi, which focuses on crime drama series, and Eden, which has a schedule packed with nature and science docu-series — that are only available on paid-for platforms like Sky Q, Sky Stream, Sky Glass, and Virgin Media TV 360.
These will not be rebranded as part of the latest overhaul.
However, the four additional Free Ad-supported Streaming TV (FAST) channels launched by UKTV on its mobile and television app late last year will be renamed as part of the move towards U next month. UKTV Play Heroes will become U&Real Heroes, UKTV Play Laughs will be renamed U&Laughs, UKTV Play Full Throttle will change to U&Transport, and finally, UKTV Play Uncovered will be known as U&The Past.
These channels will remain accessible via FAST platforms, like the Samsung TV Plus service baked into all Samsung Smart TVs, Freevee on Fire TV Stick devices, the Pluto TV platform, as well as Virgin Media set-top boxes.
Speaking about the shake-up to its line-up, UKTV Chief Marketing Officer Penny Brough said: "The launch of U on 16th July is an important step for UKTV, defining our age of transformation. U will present our viewers with an extraordinary range of free quality content, allowing them to connect the dots between the streaming service and our family of TV channels."
Some of the exclusive new shows commissioned by UKTV for its new U-branded channels will include Battle in the Box — a comedy gameshow hosted by Jimmy Carr, a second series of Whitstable Pearl, and a reimagining of the classic detective series Bergerac that'll premiere on U&Drama in 2025.
UKTV Chief Digital Officer Andrea Amey said: "U will be home to almost 8,500 hours of free content, comprising new programming, exclusive shows, award-winning originals and premiere acquisitions. We can’t wait to give our viewers even more choice and a service that is easy to navigate, so they can enjoy our free and varied offering."
Your box might check whether you're happy for existing channels to be deleted as part of the retune process – that's normal since the box will need to wipe the existing TV Guide before it can replace it with the new channels and rebranded ones.
Freeview is the most popular free-to-watch provider in the UK, with 16 million homes watching content via its service on Smart TVs and streaming boxes.
