David Farnor | On 26, Nov 2016

The National Lottery draw results will no longer be broadcast live on BBC One, instead streaming live on BBC iPlayer and Facebook.

As part of a new three-year deal between Lottery organises Camelot and the BBC, the Lottery, which has been on BBC One every Saturday night since 1994, will go digital. Coverage of the results will be available via BBC iPlayer, both live and on-demand, with the results then shown later on BBC One in a regular slot after the news.

The BBC will continue to provide National Lottery draw results on Red Button and Red Button+ services, while the Lottery has also signed a deal with Facebook to stream the results live there too.

The regular Saturday night stream will be the first scheduled, ‘appointment to view’ programme on Facebook Live for UK audiences – and National Lottery players will be given the opportunity to watch the live draws at the same time every week as part of an extended Saturday night entertainment offering. The show will feature the latest news from the Lottery world, winners, behind-the-scenes features and special studio guests, with other live events across the year to be announced.

The move follows the axing of the Wednesday night live draws on BBC One several years ago, with Camelot emphasising the changing way in which an increasingly online audience choose to follow the draws. More than 70 per cent of National Lottery players now check their numbers online, while BBC iPlayer delivers well over 200 million viewing requests for TV programmes every month. Viewers on Facebook will see a countdown to live broadcasts if they access the National Lottery Facebook page before a draw programme has begun, while Camelot will also schedule live content for users and remind people that live draws are coming up.

This will all kick off from Saturday 7th January 2017, with Camelot continuing to use its facility at Pinewood Studios to host the live shows, which will be produced by Camelot’s in-house Broadcast & Production team and specialist live streaming company 3X Screen Media, which currently produces the online draws for The National Lottery’s website and YouTube channel.

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