David Farnor | On 30, Apr 2019

UKTV Play is enjoying an impressive start to 2019, and new Dave series Hypothetical is leading the way.

The panel show, featuring James Acaster and Josh Widdicombe, launched on Dave in Q1 with 1.2 million viewers tuning into its debut episode, making it the network’s most popular show of 2019 to date.

The series also took the top performing slot in Q1 on UKTV Play, the network’s popular on demand service. The platform overall has seen a 41% increase in views year-on-year, and now has over 2.3 million registered users.

UKTV Originals are the most popular shows on the service, in keeping with the trend that has driven growth across the UKTV network.

The top five Q1 shows on W were made up of UKTV Originals and exclusive acquisitions (MasterChef USA, Inside the Ambulance, The Shift: Women on the Force and 999 Rescue Squad) with brand new UKTV Original scripted drama, Flack, starring Oscar-winner Anna Paquin, attracting 620k viewers to its opening episode.
 
On Yesterday, now the fourth biggest non-PSB channel in the UK (SOCI), new UKTV Original, Bangers and Cash, also made a strong debut (18 April). The new series, which follows the Matthewsons, a family dynasty of classic car auctioneers who uncover rare classics, kick started the Easter weekend peaking with 509k viewers and has contributed to Yesterday’s success, with adult share up 11% year-on-year and 16-34 share up 22%. 
 
Really delivered its best Q1 on record, up 5% year-on-year, and UKTV Original Sarah Beeny’s Renovate Don’t Relocate, became the channel’s best performing property title with episode one launching to an audience of 478k.
 
In addition to Yesterday, Gold (+29%), Alibi (+13%) and Home (+25%) have all seen year-on-year 16-34 share increases, while Drama has seen its adult share improve by 11%.
 
Year-to-date overall , UKTV’s adult SOCI (share of commercial impacts) is 9.53%, up 3% year-on-year. In addition, the network has seen strong growth in 16-34 SOCI, which is up 6% year-on-year to 6.74%.

The growth comes as the network invests in improving its catch-up platform, with a new generation app released at the start of 2019 featuring increased personalisation, and live streaming now supported on the UKTV Play website for Dave, Drama, Yesterday, Really and Home. The channel streams will be also be available on UKTV Play’s mobile and TV apps in the coming months.

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