��������pk10

Media strategy

March is a big month for UKTV – a small, but tongue-twisting, name change, and the launch of two new channels.

In a valiant attempt to make its television portfolio slightly more highbrow, UKTV has been touting the launch UKTV People and UKTV Documentaries to broaden its factual output.

“Never mind dumbing down, UKTV is sharpening up with the launch of our two new factual channels...”

Nice PR, but is this truly a launch or a much-needed rebranding exercise? UK Horizons – the predecessor to the two new channels – had been performing poorly throughout 2003. Against a backdrop of consistent multichannel growth, any channel turning in a negative viewing performance year on year needs to take a good long hard look at itself.

Armed with extra bandwidth, UKTV has divided Horizons’ core programme output into two channels – one showing programmes loosely relating to people and the other showing a bundle of standard issue documentaries.

If the first week is anything to go by, UKTV Documentaries aims to tackle those burning issues that concern us all: “What the Stuarts did for us”; ”What the Victorians did for us”; ”What the Tudors did for us”. I think you get my drift.

Repetition aside, however, there’s some classic stuff here, from Back to the Floor to The Blue Planet – it does exactly what it says on the tin.

The UKTV People schedule is more hit and miss. What we come to expect from UKTV channels is quality programming, more often than not from the Beeb.

UKTV People has some notable gems – Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekends is always worth another watch and some original output featuring Ray Mears will draw an audience. But the programme padding of repeat after repeat of Airport, “topical” news quiz Have I Got 1990 For You and the American series Forensic Files may well turn the viewers off.

If the viewing public struggled to find an identity with Horizons, UKTV People as a channel may be a stretch too far.

Viewers will be surprised to see programming output that includes a number of US imports, which not only has a negative impact on the quality and feel of the channel, but also goes against the entire UKTV channel strategy.

Will the discernible male audience be bothered to plod through Robot Wars, just to glimpse Jordan – The Model Mum? Encouraging as they are, the UKTV break bumpers imploring us to stay with the channel during the ads may not be enough to stop the target audience zapping through to the sports channels at the first opportunity.