UKTV looks beyond the UK CEO Marcus Arthur aims to grow the company internationally now that it is fully owned by BBC Studios. Steve Clarke reports
M
arcus Arthur may be a BBC veteran, but the winds of change blowing through UKTV these past nine months or so have been like no other in his lengthy BBC career. Last June, he succeeded Darren Childs as the outfit’s CEO. His appointment followed the end of the joint venture with Discovery, which finally gave BBC Studios full control of UKTV and its seven-channel portfolio (its three lifestyle channels were acquired by Discovery as part of the separation) and the online hub, UKTV Play.
8
The line-up comprises pay-channels Gold, W, Alibi and Eden, plus free-to-air services Dave, Drama and Yesterday. UKTV – formed originally as a partnership between BBC Worldwide and Thames Television – has consistently punched above its weight against US-backed competitors. This is thanks to its exclusive, first-look deal with the BBC, which gives it secondary linear-TV and catch-up rights to everything from Line of Duty and Top Gear to, last but hardly least, Dad’s Army. Throw in all of Gavin & Stacey and Fawlty Towers and it’s not hard to see why UKTV has been so resilient for so long. Childs’ regime saw the group move
confidently into commissioning original shows, latterly scoring with Dad’s Army: The Lost Episodes, the glossy PR drama Flack and, of course, Taskmaster. Now, UKTV has reached what Arthur recently described as “a watershed moment” and he is weighing up the next phase of its development. Arthur was born and bred in Glasgow, one of six brothers and sisters. His father was a firefighter, his mother a secretary. He read psychology at the University of Glasgow, followed by an MBA. His first job was selling advertising for BBC Magazines. A defining time was working at Radio Times, where he was publishing director for four years.
UKTV
Dad’s Army: The Lost Episodes
