UKTV content spend hits $175m

UKTV, the joint venture between BBC Worldwide and Scripps Networks Interactive, is investing £110m (US$175m) in new content this year after reporting record revenue of £262m during 2012.

The company, which operates channels including Dave, Watch and Yesterday, previously said it would spend £100m a year on content from 2013.

UKTV launched its new Drama channel on Freeview, Sky and Virgin Media platforms in July and last week greenlit its first original drama Legion, a 10-part supernatural thriller for Watch.

The firm made a £71m operating profit last year, according to financial results released this week.

Jan Gooze-Zijl, UKTV’s chief financial officer, said: “We are committed to building our core channels business, but we are also investing in important new routes to market such as video-on-demand and new digital platforms. Our revenue, which exceeded £262m last year, coupled with £71m profit, demonstrates that this strategy is really paying off.”