UKTV Play, the on-demand service from UKTV, has seen a 27 per cent increase in views during lockdown.
The broadcaster said it has seen a spike in younger audiences turning to its content during the pandemic. UKTV Play has seen a 16 per cent volume increase in the key 16-34 year old category, while its network of channels as a whole have attracted a higher volume of younger audiences, with weekly reach up 22 per cent and daily reach up 37.8 per cent.
Dave is now the biggest non-PSB owned channel for 16-34s, having increased its SOCI profile by 3 percentage points to 19 per cent. SOCI stands for share of commercial impacts and related to the number of people watching an advert during a commercial break. SOCI is how commercial broadcasters measure the number of people watching.
Overall, the UKTV network has added 0.70 of a SOCI point during the lockdown period with its share of commercial impacts rising to 8.25 per cent.
In terms of what viewers are watching, classic shows such as The Vicar of Dibley, Only Fools & Horses and Gavin & Stacey feature in UKTV’s top 10 linear shows for 16-34s, alongside UKTV’s original titles such as Red Dwarf: The Promised Land, Hypothetical and Meet The Richardsons. Early data for brand new UKTV Original Big Zuu’s Big Eats, which premiered on Dave in mid-May, reveals 47 per cent of its audience falls into the 16-34 age range.
UKTV CEO Marcus Arthur commented: “Television can bring great comfort in these troubled times. We’re staying at home and the news is bleak, but escapist, entertaining and comforting TV can bring great joy. Shared viewing has increased by a quarter as families sit down together to watch TV and the boost in 16-34-year-olds visiting UKTV’s channels has contributed to the network’s strong growth in share of commercial impacts.”
