The deal, negotiated by Omnicom branded content division Drum PHD and the Virgin Media-owned sales house Ids, starts today and will run until 31 December across eight UKTV channels, including Dave and Alibi.
Included in the deal are programmes such as 'The Royle Family', 'Only Fools and Horses', 'Gavin & Stacey', 'My Family', 'Extreme Makeover Home Edition', 'Dragon's Den', 'Amazing Planet' and 'Antiques Roadshow'.
Sainsbury's will also be the channel sponsor, including branded channel idents, menu boards and promotional trails, of pay-TV channels Gold and Watch over the deal period.
Creative for the sponsorship is by Abbot Mead Vickers BBDO and will feature fifteen separate idents focusing on different Sainsbury's Christmas products or "hero lines".
Natalie Dunn, brand advertising manager at Sainsbury's, said: "This partnership enables us to position ourselves around classic Christmas programming in a fiercely competitive period for retailer advertisers."
The Sainsbury's deal is the final major TV sponsorship to be sold through . The and Sky Media will takes over the sales for the old Virgin Media Television channels.
UKTV is a joint venture between BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC, and Virgin Media.
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