A MAJOR telly broadcaster has re-branded to bring its channels and streaming under the same banner - but not everyone's happy.
UKTV has become a staple in British households, boosted by popular free-to-air stations such as Dave and paid offerings like Gold and Alibi.
But on July 16, it's set to officially re-brand as 'U'.
It means free-to-air channels Dave, Drama, Yesterday and W will all be refreshed as U&Dave, U&Drama and so on.
The streaming service will also be dubbed 'U'.
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Speaking on the change, marketing boss Penny Brough said it was intended to unite its line-up of TV channels with streaming.
She said: "The launch of U on 16th July is an important step for UKTV, defining our age of transformation.
"U will present our viewers with an extraordinary range of free quality content, allowing them to connect the dots between the streaming service and our family of TV channels."
The move was first floated back in November, with the date for the transition announced this week.
Not all viewers were praising the move when it was initially tabled.
X user Steve was particularly scathing: "UKTV rebrand is the worst rebrand I’ve ever seen."
On Instagram, a user commented: "Cheap and tacky rebrand."
To which another replied: "It's daft."
On the contrary, others reacted with love heart emojis and the raising hands emoji in a show of support.
The broadcaster is promising an additional 1,500 hours of streaming will be added to its catalogue when its new name comes into force.
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Chief digital officer Andrea Amey said: "We can't wait to give our viewers even more choice and a service that is easy to navigate, so they can enjoy our free and varied offering."
According to YouGov, UKTV's pre-eminent channel is clearly Dave, which was ranked 13th most popular in the country in the first quarter of 2024.
UKTV's comedy station Gold came in next at no.32, with crime channel Alibi at no.50 and W at no.58.
