27 May, 2015
UKTV is set to re-brand pay-TV channel Watch to appeal to a more female-skewing audience.
The multichannel broadcaster is understood to be ramping up the number of original factual entertainment formats which appeal more to women. At the same time it is to reduce its reliance on acquired US dramas.
It is believed that UKTV is in talks with external partners over the move, which could include a name change for the channel that launched in October 2008.
Watch has ordered a raft of new series as part of the new strategy. These include a wedding format from Twofour and a series commission for one of the projects from its Formats Lab initiative.
Twofour’s Get Me To The Church treats a bride or groom and their friends to a pre-wedding celebration before making them race to reach the ceremony on time.
It was commissioned by senior commissioning editor Catherine Catton.
Watch has also ordered a 8 x 60-minute run of Honey I Bought The House, a co-production between Objective Productions and Crook Productions.
The show hands a couple a £15,000 deposit to help them onto the property ladder but has a Don’t Tell The Bride-style twist.
The pilot aired in December and scored 78,000 (0.3%), just below the channel’s slot average of 83,000 (0.4%) for the past 12 months.
Watch’s most successful series to date is Dynamo: Magician Impossible, but other than a handful of commissions including Sky Vision’s Bin There, Dump That and Objective’s Katherine Mills: Mind Games, the channel is best known for acquiring US series such as Believe, Grimm, Perception and Resurrection.
Dave boss Steve North took over leadership of the channel in June as part of a reshuffle following the departure of Steve Hornsey. Former NBC Universal and ITV3 executive Adam Collings was hired as head of programming in December.
North said he was planning to deliver an update within the next few weeks.
“UKTV has a portfolio of lively, imaginative brands and we’re never ones to rest on our laurels,” he added. “We have exciting plans underway for Watch but it’s too early to go into much detail.”
Last week the broadcaster revealed plans to turbocharge Dave’s budget by 70% after it reported a record £74m profit in 2014.
Source : http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/…-re-brand/5088696.article
