UKTV’s comedy channel Gold will be rebranded Christmas Gold this December

• Seasonal change will be reflected in Gold’s on and off-air branding, as well as EPG
• Good Food will also be renamed Christmas Food throughout December for first time

LONDON, 15-10-2015 — /EuropaWire/ — UKTV’s flagship comedy channel Gold, is to be rebranded Christmas Gold this December to reflect its extended festive season and new content including an exclusive new episode of Legends of Standup & Bernard Righton, starring John Thomson.

The seasonal rename – a first for Gold – will be reflected through on and off-air branding and on the EPG from Tuesday 1 December until Sunday 3 January 2016. The channel will also enhance and reflect Gold’s hugely popular festive programming season called 25 Days of Christmas, which will this year run from the earlier time of 7pm each day (previously 10pm).

Due to its focus on serving up the perfect blend of TV favorites, Gold is frequently the UK’s most watched pay entertainment channel on Christmas day. Last year it again held this title, with viewing up 171%*.

Gold’s General Manager Steve North said,

With the very best in comedy classics, Christmas specials and funny films, Gold is naturally the nation’s first choice during the festive period. By renaming the channel to Christmas Gold and extending our themed programming in December, we’re providing the perfect destination for viewers to put their feet up and enjoy their favourite shows with family and friends.

Award-winning media company UKTV’s new in-house creative team working with Ink & Giants Motion Graphics and Animation studio has created new Christmas Gold on-air assets, including a bespoke logo, idents, BEOPS (Beginning And End Of Parts) and bumpers. Gold’s website (goldtv.co.uk) and social media platforms will also receive the festive shake-up.

Key programmes to feature in this year’s festive line-up include a Miranda special, Still Open All Hours special, Catherine Tate’s Nan special, as well as a raft of Christmas staples including Only Fools and Horses, The Vicar of Dibley, The Royle Family, and Wallace and Gromit. In addition, classic film titles such as Wayne’s World, Nutty Professor and The Naked Gun have also been added to the schedule, giving viewers even more reason to stay tuned this December.

Last month, Gold achieved its most-watched day of 2015, as well as its biggest non-Christmas-or-Python-Day since January 2014. British comedy classics such as Mrs Brown’s Boys, The Royle Family, Blackadder and Only Fools and Horses drew particularly big audiences in September.

This is not the first time UKTV has temporarily rebranded a channel. Earlier this year, the network celebrated the launch of new David Hasselhoff-fronted show Hoff the Record on Dave by renaming the channel David.

CHRISTMAS FOOD

UKTV’s leading Lifestyle channel, Good Food, is also due for a festive re-vamp and will be called Christmas Food throughout December, to highlight it as a home for stellar food content presented by much-loved chefs.

UKTV has also created a set of new on-air assets for Christmas Food in house, with the seasonal channel name appearing in the EPG from Tuesday 1 December until Sunday 3 January 2016.

Key programmes that will be featured on the channel include, Nigella’s Christmas Kitchen, Jamie’s Best Ever Christmas, Nigel Slater’s Christmas Suppers, Hairy Bikers Christmas Party, River Cottage Christmas Fayre and Rick Stein’s Far Eastern Christmas.

Back-to-back festive content for Christmas Food will air from 28 November until 24 December, providing the destination choice for foodies this festive season.

ENDS

• Excluding movie channels ** Average 000’s for January – November 2015 average

Notes to Editors

For more information please contact:

Lara Feinstein, Network Communications Executive 0203 752 7721 |

Lara Feinstein, Corporate Communications Executive Nicola Rowley, Group Publicity Manager

About Gold (Sky 110, Virgin 126, TalkTalk 408, Top-Up TV 20)

Dedicated to celebrating the best of British comedy, Gold is the nation’s favourite comedy channel. Much-loved comedy series such as Only Fools and Horses, The Vicar of Dibley and Outnumbered sit alongside successful commissions including Porridge: Inside Out, The Comic Strip Presents: Five Go To Rehab (starring Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders), You, Me and Them, Bring Me Morecambe and Wise, Monty Python Live (mostly): One Down Five to Go and the ultimate Python documentary Monty Python: The Meaning of Live. The perfect tonic to make you laugh whatever the time of day, Gold shows universally funny content that everyone can enjoy. Gold.uktv.co.uk /@goldtvchannel

About Good Food HD

Sky / HD 247, Virgin 260

Good Food features all the biggest names in food, including Jamie Oliver, Nigella Lawson, James Martin, Rachel Allen, Madhur Jaffrey and The Hairy Bikers. Appealing to both the expert cook and those who enjoy food-led entertainment, Good Food delivers exciting originations such as Choccywoccydoodah, The Roux Scholarship, Perfect, Valentine Warner: Coast to Coast, Madhur Jaffrey’s Curry Nation and Monster Munchies! Alongside overseas titles such as Man v Food, Luke Nguyen’s Vietnam and Top Chef, Good Food is the UK’s leading pay TV food channel with access to the best culinary talent and a passion for all things in the kitchen.

goodfoodchannel.co.uk

About UKTV

UKTV is the multi-award winning media company that reaches 42 million viewers a month.

UKTV’s eleven imaginative brands – UKTV Play, Dave, Watch, Gold, Alibi, Yesterday, Drama, Really, Home, Eden and Good Food – include the most popular non-PSB channel in the UK and account for 9% of the British commercial TV market. The company’s most recent financial results showed record-breaking year-end revenue of £283m and EBITDA of £74.1m. It invested £123m in programming and related launches last year, and is becoming an increasingly significant investor in UK creativity.

UKTV has a truly innovative model, curating brand-defining commissions, high-profile acquisitions and the very best of BBC, alongside programmes originally shown on ITV and Channel 4. The network embraces technology to deliver inspired channels to audiences through Freeview, Sky, Virgin Media, BT, TalkTalk, YouView and UKTV Play, and distributes its highly valued original programmes to 200 territories.

Now celebrating its 22nd year at the forefront of digital television, UKTV – an independent commercial joint venture between BBC Worldwide and Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. (SNI) – is proud to be the only British television broadcaster to be recognised by Best Companies.

corporate.uktv.co.uk / press.uktv.co.uk / @uktv_press

SOURCE: UKTV

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UKTV’s comedy channel Gold will be rebranded Christmas Gold this December