Channel 4 in the United Kingdom has agreed a deal to carry hundreds of titles from UKTV on the Channel 4 online service. UKTV is a commercial operation that is wholly owned by BBC Studios, a commercial subsidiary of the BBC. It will augment the online offering of Channel 4, which says that it is growing online viewing faster than other British broadcasters or leading online players Netflix, Amazon, and Disney.
The multi-year carriage agreement will see thousands of hours of programming from the UKTV U online video service available on the Channel 4 online service from January 2026.
As well as original titles, they will include classics from the BBC, like The Office.
The carriage deal, which will complement UKTV’s existing standalone U service, will mark the first time Channel 4 streaming has carried a third-party service on its platform.
It is designed to accelerate the Channel 4 Fast Forward strategy to develop its online proposition, expanding the choice of programming available.
It will allow UKTV to expand its reach, while maintaining its own distribution on the online service it calls U. It renamed the online service U in July 2024 as part of a broader branding change to drop the UK name. It was formerly UKTV Play.
Jonathan Allan, Interim CEO, Channel 4, said: “It’s fantastic that we are building on our long and successful commercial partnership with a bold new deal with UKTV to make our Channel 4 streaming proposition even stronger for viewers. Loads of brilliant British content from U will complement our own bold, noisy shows and UKTV will benefit from tapping into our younger streaming audience.”
Channel 4 already sells advertising on behalf of UKTV, which has been wholly owned by BBC Studios, a commercial subsidiary of the BBC, since 2019. UKTV can trace its origins back to a single channel, UK Gold, which began as a joint venture between the BBC and Thames Television in 1992.
Channel 4 says it was the fastest growing online video platform in the United Kingdom, with viewing up 36% year on year in September, with 6.7 billion minutes viewed online in the month.
Young people aged 16-34 now watch more than half of their Channel 4 viewing online, a greater proportion than any other commercial broadcaster in the United Kingdom.