[James2001]

U&W

That’s some top tier branding

Sounds like where I'd go to buy a new hammer.

[F4C]

The rebranding in theory is a good idea- Dave is a really strong and established brand but it lacks any sort of cohesive links to the other UKTV channels save for the UKTV Play promos. 

The U brand COULD work but U&Dave? It doesn’t work. U&W sounds like a DIY dealer and U&Yesterday feels too cumbersome. They still haven’t learnt from the whole G.O.L.D debacle. 

Simply shoving a UKTV logo into each channel logo and occasionally mentioning it on continuity announcements could have done the same job in a more natural way.

[Jonny]

The problem is that although Dave was a success, it didn't translate as well to other channels. And under past leadership, it became a disjointed mess, especially with promoting UKTV Play, so unifying was on the cards, the issue now is the execution - which I guess we'll all see later in the new year.

Agreed that they never seemed to find a way to present a unified front clearly. As other posters said, Global's house of brands approach, underlined by consistent mentions of the parent brand, is a good template to follow. 

They kind of tried this but didn't execute with the constant repetition and consistency required to establish UKTV Play as a front of mind destination for the disparate channels.

Therefore "U&..." feels like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. I can imagine how this idea germinated - "watch Taskmaster live on U and Dave". It's getting the streaming service first and prominent on every verbal announcement and graphic. There's something in that - see the BBC rebrand and "watch on iPlayer / listen on Sounds" trimming away all the navigational fat.

Unfortunately, it's been delivered in the most cumbersome way possible. An ampersand - really? Unique, I guess, but incredibly awkward for people searching for content, URLs, social handles...

Leaving aside the aesthetics, there are technical reasons this should have been dismissed at first draft. I await the final execution with great interest, there is some serious work to be done here.

[arbrax]

They're lucky the UTV branding is dying so they can get away with using a similar looking letter

[Brekkie]

Have to wonder if they've announced this so when they rebrand as UKTV Dave, UKTV W etc. it doesn't look anywhere near as bad.

[JMT1985]

Can someone explain to me is UKTV Play simply a platform for streaming their content from their free to air channels?

If so then this means programming from GOLD and their other pay channels are not available to stream online?

[dbl]

Can someone explain to me is UKTV Play simply a platform for streaming their content from their free to air channels?

If so then this means programming from GOLD and their other pay channels are not available to stream online?

Short answer, yes, for now - unless that programme is repeated on the free channels. As GOLD and Alibi help earn revenue from pay platforms

[London Lite]

UKTV VOD is confusing on Sky. The UKTV Play section in Channels has programming from the FTA channels, plus paywall channel Eden. While Alibi and Gold have their own VOD sections.

So are UKTV going to make it even more confusing when there is "U" on Sky that has Eden lumped in with free channels that isn't going under the U banner at launch, while the other pay channels keep their own VOD sections for now.

[James2001]

Watching Drama this morning, I've noticed the UKTV Play logo at the end of trailers has changed from blue to rd, is that the first stage of this rebrand?

[F4C]

Watching Drama this morning, I've noticed the UKTV Play logo at the end of trailers has changed from blue to rd, is that the first stage of this rebrand?

Website still uses blue, maybe it will get changed in a couple of days.

Part of me still hopes they might backtrack on this rebrand, because the whole U& brand is just ridiculous.