Today sees the end of an era as UKTV Gold, launched in 1992, is rebranded and split into two channels, while UKTV Drama also get a lick of paint and is rebranded as Alibi, the channel for top notch crime drama repeats.
I’m quite sad about the end of UK Gold - as a TV daftie, I remember getting highly excited when UK Gold launched back in the day - one of the first major broadcasters of archival TV. It was a bit creaky and homespun, perhaps, but where else could I catch regular repeats of Doctor Who, All Creatures Great and Small and um, The Bill?
The channel has remained a mainstay of the non-terrestrial landscape for years, and its success, in part, led to the formation of the UKTV family of channels - UKTV Drama, History, Arena and Play, amongst others. Some are now defunct, others broke away from the BBC Worldwide/Virgin Media partnership - UK Living, now LivingTV (owned solely by Virgin) - but the family has endured.
As of today, UKTV Gold splits down the middle to become G.O.L.D. (Go On Laugh Everyday), devoted to classic British sitcoms (and My Hero), and Watch, a lifestyle and drama channel, the new home of Richard and Judy following their departure from Channel 4.
UKTV performed something of a dry run on rebranding its portfolio in September last year when UKTV Gold 2 was rebranded as Dave (because everybody knows a bloke called Dave), specialising in comedy for a predominantly male audience, along with shows like Top Gear. It was, in relative terms, a big success, and has arguably led the way for this major retooling.
But will G.O.L.D. and Watch, along with Alibi, be as effective as Dave? Perhaps - certainly the signing Richard and Judy is something of a coup and will bring viewers to the new channel - but I’d hazard not as many as UKTV is expecting. They are not that big a draw, to be honest (just ask Channel 4). Still, the show will be worth a look - and the book club is still there.
As for Alibi, well, who doesn’t love crime drama - and there’s enough of it out there. And even better, Alibi will be showing vintage Trevor Eve drama Shoestring, which is a welcome treat and rarely repeated.
TV Today will be watching the fortunes of G.O.L.D., Watch and Alibi with great interest.
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