Dave (channel)
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| Dave | |
|---|---|
| Image:Dave 2007 logo.png | |
| Launched | October, 1998 |
| Owned by | UKTV (BBC/Virgin Media Television) |
| Picture format | 4:3, 576i (SDTV) |
| Audience share | 1.2% (0.1% for +1) (November 2007, [1]) |
| Slogan | "The home of witty banter" |
| Country | Image:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom |
| Formerly called | UKTV G2 (until October 2007) UKG2 (until March 2004) UK Gold 2 (until November 2003) UK Gold Classics (until April 1999) |
| Sister channel(s) | UKTV Gold |
| Timeshift service | Dave +1 |
| Website | www.dave-tv.co.uk |
| Availability | |
| Terrestrial | |
| Freeview | Channel 19 |
| Satellite | |
| Sky Digital | Channel 111 Channel 159 (+1) |
| Cable | |
| Virgin Media | Channel 126 Channel 127 (+1) |
| Tiscali TV | Channel 40 |
| UPC Ireland | Channel 122 |
Dave (previously UKTV G2, UK G2; UK Gold 2 and UK Gold Classics) is a television channel broadcasting in the United Kingdom, as part of the UKTV network of channels. The channel is available on Satellite (BSkyB), Cable and Freeview platforms. A timeshift service with the name Dave+1 is available on the Virgin Media and Sky Digital platforms. This service launched on 1 November 2004 with name UKTV G2+1. The channel is managed by Steve North.[1]
Contents |
[edit] History
UK Gold Classics was launched when UK Gold began to move towards newer programmes instead of older ones. From 2 April 1999 it was renamed to UK Gold 2, and screened morning programmes from UK Gold time-shifted to the evening of the same day. It was again relaunched with a completely new programme lineup and renamed UKG² on 12 November 2003. Along with the rest of the UKTV network, the "UK" prefix was changed to "UKTV" on 8 March 2004 and therefore the channel name changed to UKTV G2. The continuity announcers had been known to make fun of the extreme length of the full name saying "it's for watching rather than saying", "more laughs than letters in its name" or "more letters than Postman Pat".
The output of the channel is mainly comedy from the BBC with some shows produced inhouse. A fair amount is similar to the comedy output of UK Play/Play UK before that channel's closure.
Some shows available on Dave are Top Gear, Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, Red Dwarf, Parkinson, Bottom, Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, Room 101, QI, Have I Got News for You and Little Britain.
In February 2006, UKTV G2 picked up the rights to show highlights of the RBS Six Nations rugby union championship, with a highlights show broadcast on the evening of the games previously shown live on the BBC. On 16 March 2006, UKTV G2 announced a deal to air extensive coverage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup as a sub licensing of the BBC's rights to the tournament.[2] UKTV G2 simulcasted the BBC's live matches, including the opening match between Germany and Costa Rica, England's game with Paraguay and the final. The channel also showed highlights of every match in the tournament.
[edit] Rebranding and Freeview launch
In September 2007, UKTV announced that they would relaunch and rename UKTV G2 to Dave on 15 October.[3]. UKTV said the name of the channel was chosen because "everyone knows a bloke called Dave".[4] The rebrand included the channel being available free-to-air on digital terrestrial platform, Freeview, replacing UKTV Bright Ideas which only averaged 0.1% of the audience share.[5] The move to Freeview saw Dave launch in the bandwidth previously used by UKTV History which now uses the time limited (07:00-18:00) bandwidth once occupied by UKTV Bright Ideas. Dave is available daily, from 7 am to 3 am, on all platforms. It calls itself "the home of witty banter" and now uses Phill Jupitus as an announcer.
To ensure that all Freeview viewers receive the channel on number 19, UKTV placed a re-tuning notice placed on the programme's information banner, however this has now gone.
[edit] Reception
UKTV has referred to Dave as "a huge success", after the channel became the tenth largest in the UK just one month after launch. The broadcaster puts daily averages at around 3m viewers, although much of the growth may be attributed to its presence on Freeview; nonetheless, it is performing significantly better in pay TV homes than UKTV G2 ever did. Over the month since its launch, Dave averaged a 1.32% share in multichannel homes and a 3.2% share in the 16-34 male demographic.[6]
Dave's positive reception is proven by an attraction of 4m viewers throughout 18 November 2007 for its coverage of "Car of the Year", pushing it to second place in multichannel behind ITV2.[6]
The shows with the highest ratings are QI (over 400,000 viewers), Top Gear (350,000) and Dragons Den (about 300,000).[1]
[edit] Programming
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[edit] DaveSport
A new strand coming to Dave, since winning the rights to WRC starting with the 2008 season.
[edit] Logos
UK Gold 2 logo.png
UK Gold 2 (Autumn 1998 - May 2001) |
UKTV G2 logo.png
UKTV G2 (March 2004 - October 2007) |
Dave 2007 logo.png
Dave - "The Home of Witty Banter" (October 2007 - Present) |
[edit] References
- ^ a b Armstrong, Stephen; Pickard, Anna (2007-12-17). Have you got your daily male? (English). The Guardian. Retrieved on 2007-12-17.
- ^ Broadcasting - News - UKTV lands huge World Cup rights deal - Digital Spy. Retrieved on 2007-11-04.
- ^ It's Dave - not Bright Ideas and evening History - ukfree.tv - independent digital TV and switchover advice. Retrieved on 2007-11-04.
- ^ BBC NEWS - Entertainment - 'Dave' channel targets young men. Retrieved on 2007-11-04.
- ^ Terrestrial - News - UKTV considers G2 Freeview launch - Digital Spy. Retrieved on 2007-11-04.
- ^ a b UKTV celebrates Dave's growth Digital Spy, 21 November 2007
[edit] External links
- Official Dave Website
- UKTV G2 at TV Ark
- The TV Room looks at presentation/branding on the UKTV channels
UKTV |
|---|
| Dave - UKTV Documentary - UKTV Drama - UKTV Food - UKTV Gardens - UKTV Gold - UKTV History - UKTV People - UKTV Style |
| Website: uktv.co.uk |
Virgin Media Television | |
|---|---|
| Channels | Adult Swim • Bravo • Bravo 2 • Challenge • Living • Living2 • Trouble • Virgin 1 • Virgin Central • Sit-Up TV (bid tv • price-drop tv • speed auction tv • Screenshop) |
| Joint Ventures | Setanta Sports News1 • UKTV2 (UKTV Documentary • UKTV Drama • UKTV Food • UKTV Gardens • UKTV Gold • UKTV History • UKTV People • UKTV Style • Dave) |
| Defunct channels | The Children's Channel • Ftn • SceneOne • Tiny Living • UK Horizons • UK Arena • Play UK • UKTV Bright Ideas • European Business News • Player |
| 1Setanta Sports News is a joint venture with Setanta Sports 2Virgin Media Television own a 50% stake in UKTV with BBC Worldwide | |
| Website: virginmediatv.co.uk | |
