BBC UKTV is an Australian

pay television Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to Subscription business model, subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichan ...

channel in Australia and New Zealand, screening British entertainment programming, sourced mainly from the archives of the

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RTL Group RTL Group (for "Radio Television Luxembourg") is a Luxembourg-based international media conglomerate, with another corporate centre in Cologne, Germany. The company operates 68 television channels and 31 radio stations in Germany, France and ...

(mainly

Talkback Thames Talkback Thames (stylised as talkbackTHAMES) was a British television production company, a division of Fremantle (part of the RTL Group, which in turn is owned by Bertelsmann). It was formed by the merger of Talkback Productions and Thames Tel ...

material) and

ITV plc ITV plc is a British media company that holds 13 of the 15 regional television licences that make up the ITV network (Channel 3), the oldest and largest commercial terrestrial television network in the United Kingdom. ITV plc is listed on the ...

. The channel was originally a joint venture with

Foxtel Foxtel is an Australian pay television company—operating in cable television, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April 2018, superseding an earlier company from 1995. The service was establi ...

(60% ownership), the RTL Group (20% ownership) and

BBC Worldwide BBC Worldwide Ltd. was the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the BBC, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in January 1995. The company monetises BBC brands, selling BBC and other British programming for broadcas ...

(20% ownership). It is now owned solely by

BBC Studios BBC Studios is a British content company. It is a commercial subsidiary of the BBC that was formed in April 2018 through the merger of the BBC's commercial production arm and the BBC's commercial international distribution arm, BBC Worldwide. ...

. It is the home of the channel's flagship programme ''

The Graham Norton Show ''The Graham Norton Show'' is a British comedy chat show presented by Graham Norton. It was initially broadcast on BBC Two, from 22 February 2007, before moving to BBC One in October 2009. It currently airs on Friday evenings, with Norton s ...

''.

History

The channel was first launched in Australia in August 1996, becoming available on Austar in April 1999 and on Optus in December 2002. A New Zealand version with different programming launched on Sky TV, in November 2003. It shows a mix of repeats of old UK shows previously screened in Australia or New Zealand and new episodes of programs not shown before in Australia or New Zealand. Repeated series include ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'', ''

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' (sometimes referred to as ''HG2G'', ''HHGTTG'', ''H2G2'', or ''tHGttG'') is a comedy science fiction franchise created by Douglas Adams. Originally a 1978 radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4, it w ...

'', '' Are You Being Served?'', '' Dad's Army'', '' Torchwood'', ''

Torchwood Declassified ''Torchwood Declassified'' is a documentary series created by the BBC to complement the British science fiction television series ''Torchwood''. Each episode is broadcast on the same evening as the broadcast of the weekly television episode. A sec ...

'', '' The Jewel in the Crown'', '' Never the Twain'', ''

The Sweeney ''The Sweeney'' is a 1970s British television police drama focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London. It stars John Thaw as Detective Ins ...

'', and ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused on ...

'' that have already been seen on free-to-air terrestrial television in Australia. New series include '' Shameless'', new episodes of popular soap operas ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Origi ...

'' and ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...

'' and the original UK version of ''

The Weakest Link ''Weakest Link'' (also known as ''The Weakest Link'') is a television game show which The Weakest Link (British game show), first appeared in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 14 August 2000 and originally ended on 31 March 2012 when its host ...

'' which have not otherwise been screened in Australia. UK soap opera ''

Family Affairs ''Family Affairs'' is a British soap opera that aired on Channel 5. It debuted on 30 March 1997, the day of the launch of said channel and was the first programme broadcast on the channel. It was screened as five thirty-minute episodes per w ...

'', which has never been screened on free-to-air Australian television, ran on UKTV from 1998 to 2007. In July 2006 UKTV began screening 2006 episodes of UK soap opera '' Emmerdale'' which had never before been screened in Australia. UKTV's episodes of ''EastEnders'' are currently two weeks behind the United Kingdom, and ''Coronation Street'' is about one week behind. Current ''Emmerdale'' episodes currently in 2021 are about four weeks behind the original UK broadcasts. In addition to British programming UKTV has repeated Australian soap operas '' Sons and Daughters'' and '' Prisoner'' which were both produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation (now owned by FremantleMedia). In both cases the entire series was shown; the '' Sons and Daughters'' repeat run was from 1997 until 2000 and '' Prisoner'' ran from 1997 until October 2004, ''Prisoner'' is now screening on

111 Hits Fox Funny (formerly 111 funny, pronounced as "triple one") is an Australian pay television channel focused on airing popular American sitcoms from the mid-2000s to present, complementing the 1980s–2005 schedule of sister network Fox Comedy. His ...

from March 2011. It also screened the

TVNZ , type = Crown entity , industry = Broadcast television , num_locations = New Zealand , location = Auckland, New Zealand , area_served = Nationally (New Zealand) and some Pacific Island nations such as the Cook Islands, Fiji, and the So ...

soap opera ''

Shortland Street ''Shortland Street'' is a New Zealand prime-time soap opera centring on the fictitious Shortland Street Hospital, first broadcast on TVNZ 2 on 25 May 1992. It is New Zealand's longest-running drama and soap opera, being broadcast continuously ...

'' for several years in the 1990s, after early episodes of that series had briefly been screened by SBS on free-to-air television in Australia. In Australia, UKTV, like all pay TV drama channels, is legally required to spend 10 per cent of its total program expenditure on funding new eligible (Australian and New Zealand) drama programs. Such productions include '' Changi'', ''

Supernova A supernova is a powerful and luminous explosion of a star. It has the plural form supernovae or supernovas, and is abbreviated SN or SNe. This transient astronomical event occurs during the last evolutionary stages of a massive star or when ...

'', ''Make or Break'' and ''

False Witness ''False Witness'', also known as ''The Diplomat'' internationally, is a two-part Australian television mini-series, produced by Screentime Australia, and broadcast simultaneously on the Australian subscription television channel UKTV (Australia ...

''. UKTV has separate services in Australia and New Zealand, partly to reflect different local tastes, but also for rights reasons, as many programmes are shown on free-to-air channels in New Zealand. For example, ''Coronation Street'' has been shown on TVNZ 1 for many years, while until May 2009, ''EastEnders'' was shown on

Prime A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime because the only ways ...

, before moving to UKTV. On 1 July 2008 BBC Worldwide assumed full control of UKTV. BBC Worldwide previously had a 20 per cent stake in UKTV in a three way partnership with Foxtel and Fremantle Media. BBC Worldwide launched two new Australian channels,

BBC Knowledge BBC Knowledge was a British television channel which was owned by the BBC and was launched on 1 June 1999, broadcasting documentary, cultural and educational programmes. It was shut down on 2 March 2002, and was replaced by BBC Four. History L ...

(documentary and non-fiction programming) and CBeebies (an advertising-free channel for 0 to six-year-olds) on 1 November 2008. On 3 October 2009 UKTV revealed a new logo, displaying that of the BBC, although its name remained unchanged. On 15 November 2009 the channel launched an HD simulcast, replacing BBC HD. In April 2013, the channel changed its logo and name to BBC UKTV. On 1 July 2014, the HD simulcast closed, making the channel solely available in standard definition. This came prior to the launch of BBC First, which would use the HD feed formerly used by BBC UKTV. In addition, BBC UKTV changed subscription packages on Foxtel - moving from the Drama & Lifestyle add-on package to the basic Essential package increasing its reach. On 1 February 2015, BBC UKTV launched on Australian independent IPTV service

Fetch TV Fetch TV is an Australian IPTV provider that delivers a subscription television service over a user's regular internet service. Fetch TV launched in 2010 backed by its Malaysian parent Astro Malaysia Holdings. On 2 August 2022, Telstra acquire ...

, after they won the broadcast rights to

. From 10 October 2016, the channel refreshed its logo and branding identity, to appeal to a younger audience and better distinguish its programming from the more premium offerings on sister channel BBC First. In September 2022,

partnered with South African FTA broadcaster,

OpenView HD OpenView is a free-to-view direct broadcast satellite television provider in South Africa which is run by Platco Digital (part of the eMedia Group which includes free-to-air channel e.tv). It launched on 15 October 2013. In addition to the "e" ...

, to launch the channel in the country. It will be available on Channel 114 as of 18 October 2022.

Original programming

*'' Changi'' (2001) (co-production with the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

) * ''

'' (2005-06) (co-production with

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

) * ''

'' (2009) (co-production with BBC HD) *''

Dripping in Chocolate Dripping, also known usually as beef dripping or, more rarely, as pork dripping, is an animal fat produced from the fatty or otherwise unusable parts of cow or pig carcasses. It is similar to lard, tallow and schmaltz. History It is used for ...

'' (2012) *'' Top of the Lake'' (2013–2017) (co-production with

and SundanceTV)

Logo history

File:UKTV original logo.svg , 1996–2009 File:UKTV logo.svg , 2009–2013 File:BBC UKTV.svg , 2013–2016 File:BBC uktv logo.svg , 2016 – present

References

*UKTV Website 200

Retrieved 16 January 2006.

External links

BBC UKTV AustraliaBBC UKTV New Zealand
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bbc Uktv Television networks in Australia New Zealand television channels International BBC television channels Television channels and stations established in 1996 English-language television stations in Australia English-language television stations in New Zealand 1996 establishments in Australia 2003 establishments in New Zealand BBC Worldwide