Thursday 4 July 2019
UKTV's comedy channel Dave picked up the prize for Channel of the Year (non-PSB Group) at last night's Broadcast Digital Awards, held at The Brewery, London, while entertainment channel W scooped Popular Factual show for UKTV Original Emma Willis: Delivering Babies (produced by Firecracker Films). Dave was also awarded Highly Commended for its partnership with CALM, a leading movement against suicide, the biggest killer of men under the age of 45 in the UK.
The Broadcast Digital Awards annual ceremony was attended by the broadcast industry's most influential names, celebrating the best in digital content, creativity and innovation from across the industry. This year's show and gala dinner were hosted by Taskmaster's Alex Horne and The Horne Section, which took place at London venue The Brewery last night.
The Broadcast Digital Awards are one of the most anticipated events in the UK digital broadcasters' calendar and brought together over 500 members of the industry. These are the only awards to celebrate success in programme-making and all multiplatform content including games and apps commissioned by digital broadcasters, and the technology that underpins them.
Broadcast editor Chris Curtis said:
Entries this year were of an incredibly high standard and companies that made it onto the shortlist should be very proud. Winners of this year's Broadcast Digital Awards delivered across all the criteria to an impressive level in what is a very important commercial and creative space.
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About Dave
Freeview 19, Sky 111, Virgin 127, YouView 19, Freesat 157, BT & TalkTalk 19
On demand on UKTVPlay
Ever since it was knee high to a TV remote, Dave had an idea. It wanted to be the first place viewers would come for brand-new, award-winning entertainment from the biggest and brightest stars and production companies in the UK. And in the years since, it has launched some of the most exciting and best-loved titles on TV.
There are names like BAFTA and Emmy-nominated Taskmaster - now in its ninth series -, Judge Romesh, Hypothetical, Jon Richardson: Ultimate Worrier and Comedians Giving Lectures. And of course there's Dave Gorman, whose inquisitive mind is returning to the channel for Terms and Conditions Apply. It's not just in front of the camera where the comic genius lies either, with a wealth of scripted treasure such as Sliced, Porters and the globally popular Red Dwarf.
Dave's not content just to make you laugh and share gags with your mates though. Expedition with Steve Backshall and Hurricane Man are showing you regions and aspects of the earth never before seen on TV. Red Bull Soapbox continues to delight with its boundless capacity for invention. And stepping away from the TV entirely, Dave's partnered with CALM to launch the "Be The Mate You'd Want" campaign and the "Conversations Against Living Miserably" podcast.
Reaching 20million viewers a month, Dave's come a long way, but it's only just getting warmed up.
dave.uktv.co.uk / @davechannel
About W
Sky 109/245, Virgin 124/191, BT 311 & TalkTalk 407 / On demand on Sky and Virgin
W is UKTV's premium entertainment channel, offering audiences a dazzling mix of UKTV Original series with some of the UK's most-loved talent in front and behind the camera.
Part of the W family, Emma Willis trains as a maternity care assistant in Emma Willis: Delivering Babies, while Emily Atack asks herself some big questions in Emily Atack: Adulting and Stacey Dooley spends some time with extraordinary families in Stacey Dooley: Sleeps Over. For its first foray into scripted original series, W welcomed Lorna Martin's Women on the Verge and celebrity PR drama Flack, starring Academy award winner Anna Paquin.
W will also delve into the world of babies and weddings with My Famous Babysitter and The Wedding Fixer later this year, while channel favourite Inside The Ambulance continues shine a light on paramedics across the UK. Inside the Operating Theatre takes that relationship further getting to the heart of the surgeons saving lives inside the hospital. Debut series Ski A&E will look at the heroic actions of emergency ski services. And finally, W's hit acquisitions MasterChef Australia, MasterChef USA and MasterChef USA Juniors round out the offering.