Fox Intl. Channels to Launch First Free-to-Air Channel in the U.K.
LONDON — Fox Intl. Channels is to launch its first free-to-air channel in the U.K. on Oct. 1. The entertainment channel, YourTV, is primarily aimed at women.
YourTV will provide viewers with “sensational real-life stories, irresistible experiences and thrilling tales,” said FIC. “From uplifting relationship features to shocking accounts of wrongdoing, audacious characters to inspirational advice.” The channel will air for 20 hours each day across the U.K., from 7 a.m. until 3 a.m. It joins FIC’s U.K. portfolio that also includes pay TV channels Fox, National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo Wild and Baby TV.
Jeff Ford, managing director Fox Intl. Channels U.K., said: “I am thrilled to announce the launch of YourTV, our first free-to-air channel, an exciting next step in the evolution of our U.K. brand portfolio. Providing a daily treat of compelling scripted and unscripted series for viewers, YourTV is a fresh new destination for entertainment.”
YourTV’s schedule will be “shaped around viewers’ daily routines, their moods and viewing needs: brightening up lunchtime with inspirational cookery advice; enhancing an afternoon coffee break with a compelling character-driven story; and adding entertainment to the evenings with sensational real-life tales.”
U.K. premieres on YourTV include “Corrupt Crimes,” a new series investigating recent sensational crime stories. It will include expert analysis and dramatic storytelling. Cases include crimes of passion, espionage, treason, government corruption, the black market, piracy, murder, blackmail and conspiracies.
Scripted content includes U.S. legal drama “Shark,” starring James Wood as hot-shot lawyer Sebastian Stark, who leaves his lucrative career as a defender of rich criminals to prosecute criminals instead under the District Attorney.
“Don’t Tell the Bride” will provide YourTV viewers with uplifting factual stories. Couples hoping to tie the knot are given money to plan the perfect wedding — with a catch: The groom has to organize everything within three weeks running up to the big day, and is allowed no contact with his bride-to-be.
YourTV’s schedule will include a range of cookery programs. In “Baking Good Baking Bad,” healthy eating expert Harry Eastwood (“Cook Yourself Thin”) “takes viewers on a journey through her home city of Paris.” In each episode she shows viewers how to make French treats for both “saints and sinners” alike.
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