UKTV Awards Eight-Figure Media Planning and Buying Account to Havas Entertainment

UKTV has awarded its media planning and buying account to Havas Entertainment after a competitive, fair and open pitching process led by The Aperto Partnership and UKTV’s director of media, Alasdair Weddell.

Alasdair commented: “I was blown away by the level of creativity and innovative thinking demonstrated by all the agencies involved in our review process - we’re very fortunate to have such a strong media planning and buying sector in our industry. As an entertainment specialist however, Havas Entertainment stood out as the agency best positioned to support UKTV in our next chapter due to the team’s expertise in turning viewers into fans.” 

The specialist entertainment agency pitched alongside the incumbent agency Hearts & Science, who have held the business for over twelve years, as well as Starcom and Total Media.

“As we move our focus to transitioning UKTV’s media buying business to Havas," added Alasdair, "I would like to express my huge gratitude to Hearts & Science for the significant role they have played in UKTV’s growth.”

Nick Wright, managing director of Havas Entertainment said: “Havas Entertainment exists for brands like UKTV: like-minded specialists who understand the needs of fans and how to engage with them through a carefully crafted blend of media and creativity that goes way beyond ‘spots and space’. Our experience so far has been highly collaborative, engaging and inspiring. It’s given us a clear understanding of UKTV’s business and their desires, which has enabled us to ‘bring out the best’ in what we do and is the perfect springboard to a fruitful, long-term partnership. We can’t wait to get stuck in.”

The eight-figure account will move to Havas Entertainment at the beginning of July.

Andrew Mortimer of The Aperto Partnership said: “Hearts & Science, Starcom and Total Media all gave really good accounts of themselves. In the end though Havas Entertainment stood out and I wish them the very best in their new partnership with the brilliant UKTV team.”

“We’ve had a brilliant decade-long award-winning partnership with UKTV and have thoroughly enjoyed working with the team, particularly during the last year where we have helped to grow their share of commercial impacts during the pandemic." added Garrett O’Reilly, managing director of Hearts & Science. "We part company on a high, and we wish Alasdair and the UKTV team continued success.”

UKTV recently announced record viewing figures for the first quarter of the year and reported a 8.32% share of commercial impacts (SOCI). The broadcaster’s growth is on an upward trajectory and is attracting a significant share of 16-34s thanks to original programming across the network. Its latest slate on Dave features a stellar line-up of comedy talent including David Mitchell, Fern Brady, Darren Harriot, Ivo Graham, Richard Ayoade, Tom Allen, Kemah Bob and Jason Forbes. And on Alibi, UKTV’s dedicated crime drama channel, there’s a host of brand-new crime dramas and thrillers; from Ragdoll starring Henry Lloyd-Hughes, Thalissa Teixeira and Lucy Hale, to Annika a six-part series based on the hugely successful Radio 4 drama and starring Nicola Walker, 'The Diplomat', written by Ben Richards and produced by World Productions (the production company behind 'Bodyguard' and 'Line of Duty'), and the return of both 'Traces' and 'We Hunt Together'.