Important Sky and Freeview channel shake-up is coming to your TV next week (original) (raw)

If you use Sky or Freeview to get your fix of entertainment there are some big changes taking place next week.

Sky Channel Freeview

UK homes are about to find some of their most popular channels are getting a major refresh. The changes are part of a major restructure from the team at UKTV which broadcasts services such as Dave, W and Yesterday across the nation.

The firm wants to simplify its branding and make it clear to consumers which channels it owns and runs. That update means from next week, UK telly addicts will see things switch to the following channel names.

Dave becomes U&Dave - Drama changes to U&DRAMA - Yesterday becomes U&YESTERDAY and the popular W service switches to U&W.

It's been confirmed that this will all happen on Sky, Virgin and Freeview platforms automatically so you won’t need to restart your devices or need to fiddle with the settings.

Along with updating its channel names, the current UKTV streaming website and app are also being switched over to U as well. There will also be nearly 8,500 hours of on-demand content to watch online - that's a boost of around 1,500 hours.

Another change announced by UKTV is an update to its streaming service which is available via Samsung TVs, the Freevee app on Fire devices and the Pluto TV platform will also notice a difference.

"UKTV Play is changing its name to U," the firm said of its new site. "From July, you will start to see UKTV Play change its name to U across our apps."

Last year, UKTV announced the launch of four Free Ad-supported Streaming TV (FAST) on these platforms and all are getting that U branding as well.

That means UKTV Play Heroes will switch to U&Real Heroes; UKTV Play Laughs will move to U&Laughs; UKTV Play Full Throttle will transition to U&Transport; and UKTV Play Uncovered will be known as U&The Past.

Speaking about the update, Penny Brough, Chief Marketing Officer, UKTV, said: "The launch of U on 16th July is an important step for UKTV, defining our age of transformation. U will present our viewers with an extraordinary range of free quality content, allowing them to connect the dots between the streaming service and our family of TV channels.

And Andrea Amey, Chief Digital Officer, UKTV added, “U will be home to almost 8,500 hours of free content, comprising new programming, exclusive shows, award-winning originals and premiere acquisitions. We can’t wait to give our viewers even more choice and a service that is easy to navigate, so they can enjoy our free and varied offering.”