[Mark Hodgkinson]

One of Britain’s leading branded multichannel broadcasters, UKTV, has struck its first ever IPTV deal. The three-year agreement with BT Vision covers both channel-branded VOD (video-on-demand) content which will be available from today, and the network’s portfolio of linear, paid-for television channels, beginning with Watch, Gold and Alibi later this year.

UKTV’s VOD offering will be available to BT Vision customers on a subscription and transactional basis, and will include programming from Really, Eden, Good Food and Home’s new and exclusive commissioned and acquired programme catalogue, including the James Martin’s Mediterranean and Choccywoccydoodah (Good Food), Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and Celebrity Fantasy Homes (Home) plus some good stuff like Amazing Planet and Life on Fire (Eden).

UKTV’s branded linear channels will then be streamed to BT Vision set-top boxes from late 2012. Initial channels on the platform will be Watch, featuring a range of hit shows Dynamo: Magician Impossible, Alcatraz and Grimm; Gold featuring comedy’s national treasures including Fawlty Towers, The Royle Family and Blackadder; and Alibi with its range of deadly dramas including Body of Proof and Rizzoli & Isles. Further UKTV branded channels including Good Food, Eden and Home are earmarked for future development on the BT Vision service.

Darren Childs, CEO, UKTV comments “I’m delighted that BT Vision subscribers will soon benefit from the launch of our branded channels, meaning great UKTV programming is available anytime and on demand.
Marc Watson, CEO, BT Vision added “We are delighted to be able to welcome the wealth of programmes that UKTV has to offer on to BT Vision, for both on-demand and in the future, linear TV. This is great news for BT Vision customers. It is the first content deal we are announcing which includes linear TV - watch out for more exciting linear deals that are on the way“.