UKTV Play launches new YouView player
David Farnor | On 15, Mar 2017
UKTV Play has launched its upgraded player on the YouView platform.
From today, YouView viewers will have access to the updated on-demand service, which offers a selection of TV shows from UKTV’s Dave, Really, Yesterday and Drama channels.
Designed to make viewers’ experience more enjoyable and personalised, the reimagined VOD player features a smart new home screen with tailored recommendations and top shows from across the four channels. Collections bring together specially curated themes, and viewers can also collate their favourite episodes to watch later. The all-new predictive search also makes finding a programme or collection easier.
UKTV’s Head of Digital Products, Oliver Davies, says: “We’re really pleased to bring our new UKTV Play experience to YouView. As with our web, mobile and other set top box apps, viewers now have at-a-glance access to programmes across all the channels, with both hand-picked favourites and personalised recommendations based on what viewers have watched. We hope the new ways of discovering programmes such as predictive search, channel filtering, bookmarking and A-Z list, together with the improved responsiveness, will make the service even more of a pleasure to use.”
This update, which follows YouView’s reengineering and redesign of the entire platform known as Next Generation YouView, is the latest in a line of product redesigns from UKTV Play, all based on user research data and A/B testing. When the broadcaster revealed a new UKTVplay.co.uk desktop site last year it contributed to a sharp, 50 per cent increase in views. Since the new app for mobile devices launched in February, meanwhile, views have increased by 38 per cent.
Indeed, UKTV Play continues to grow year-on-year. Last week, the service had its best seven-day period ever, with total views up 56 per cent vs the year average, helped by new UKTV Originals Taskmaster, Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled and Drama’s The Brokenwood Mysteries.