David Farnor | On 20, Jul 2024

UKTV Play has officially become U, after the streaming service launched its new brand this week.

The new masterbrand of U will bring together the free on-demand platform with the broadcaster UKTV’s family of free-to-air channels, now renamed U&Dave, U&DRAMA, U&YESTERDAY and U&W.

U is home to almost 8,500 hours of free content, comprising new programming, exclusive shows, award-winning originals and premiere acquisitions. That’s an uplift of almost 1,500 hours from the start of the year. UKTV’s Free Ad-supported Streaming TV (FAST) channels have also been rebranded, with UKTV Play Heroes becoming U&Real Heroes; UKTV Play Laughs becoming U&Laughs; UKTV Play Full Throttle becoming U&Transport; and UKTV Play Uncovered becoming U&The Past.

The launch this week is marked by a host of new originals and exclusives joining popular back-catalogue hits such as The Bill and Classic EastEnders.

There’s the new original comedy reality gameshow Battle in the Box on U and U&Dave, hosted by Jimmy Carr. Based on a hit Korean format, pairs of comics and celebrities will battle it out for pride, prizes and most importantly, floorspace, in this eight-part comedy entertainment and reality hybrid.

The six-part Season 2 of Whitstable Pearl – starring Kerry Godliman as Pearl, a single mother of a grown son and a private detective – is available as a box set on U before launching on U&DRAMA.

Season 1 to 7 of Sons of Anarchy are now available on U alongside the UK premiere of Orlando Bloom: To the Edge, a three-part series that follows actor and adventure enthusiast Orlando Bloom on a physical, mental and spiritual journey of self-discovery as he undertakes three extreme sports to push himself to the edge of what’s possible. Both shows will air on U&Dave later in the year.

UKTV has also licensed Mike from Disney Entertainment, a biopic that follows the dynamic and controversial story of Mike Tyson. The eight-episode limited series explores the tumultuous ups and downs of Tyson’s boxing career and personal life – from being a beloved global athlete to a pariah and back again. It is available on U and will air on U&Dave later this year.

Other new programming includes SisterS, which sees two women, one from Canada and the other from Ireland discover they are half-sisters and embark on a road trip to find their alcoholic father, and FTA premiere of American scripted comedy sci-fi show Future Man (starring Josh Hutcherson and Seth Rogan).

On the way in the future will be a record 10th season of Bangers & Cash on U and U&YESTERDAY, following the Mathewson’s family-run historic car auction business in Yorkshire.

Other new original titles set to launch from the end of this year and throughout early 2025 include: a second season of Robert Thorogood’s The Marlow Murder Club on U and U&DRAMA, reuniting Samantha Bond (Judith Potts), Jo Martin (Suzie Harris), Cara Horgan (Becks Starling) and Natalie Dew (DCI Tanika Malik); a re-imagining of Bergerac by Toby Whithouse for U and U&DRAMA, which will see Detective Jim Bergerac return to the iconic setting of Jersey; Outrageous, a U and U&DRAMA series following the true story of the Mitford sisters who refused to play by the rules and whose often-scandalous lives made headlines in the 1930s; a third season of World’s Most Dangerous Roads for U and U&Dave; a fourth season of Emma Willis: Delivering Babies for U and U&W; and new true crime shows Back From The Dead: Who Kidnapped Me? and Lies, Deceit & Betrayal.

To kick off the launch this week, UKTV teamed up with legendary singer Cher for an advert that celebrates the wealth of free quality content on the U streaming service, promising its viewers they can lose themselves in what they love, “whatever you want to watch, we’ve got U”.In a creative twist, the global superstar is travelling through some of Britain’s best-loved shows on U, performing a new rendition of the iconic song, I Got You Babe, which was recorded especially for the launch of U.

The new U app has already been rolling out across iOS, Android and Amazon platforms, as well as Sky, Virgin Media, YouView, Freeview Play, Samsung TV, Google TV, Sony Bravia, EE, TalkTalk and Freesat boxes and TVs, plus Apple TV, Roku, NOW, FireTV and Chromecast devices. You can also access it in a browser at u.co.uk.

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