BBC and Discovery strike £200m deal to split up UKTV

The BBC has struck a £200m deal with American pay-TV giant Discovery to break up UKTV, the broadcaster behind channels such as Dave and Gold.

The BBC and Discovery currently co-own UKTV, but the two sides announced a deal on Monday that will see BCC Studios – the state broadcaster’s commercial arm – take control of seven of UKTV’s channels. Discovery will acquire the remaining three: Good Food, Home and Really.

The two sides also announced on Monday they had signed a 10-year deal licensing the BBC’s natural history and wildlife content for a new international streaming service Discovery plans to launch next year.

David Zaslav, president and chief executive of Discovery, said: “The new platform will be the first global direct-to-consumer service with the category’s most iconic intellectual property, including the Plant Earth series, future sequels and spin-offs to all existing landmark series, and new exclusive natural history and science programming coming in the future.

“There is tremendous value in the market place for these programming categories, which have broad appeal and strong multi-generational engagement, and we hope to fill the void in the global marketplace for a dedicated high-quality product.”

Tony Hall, director-general of the BBC, said: “This is brilliant news for audiences, as it will enable the BBC to invest even more in factual programming. That’s also why BBC Studios taking control of the UKTV channels that best fit our programmes is good news. It means a secure future with long-term commercial returns.”

Under the deal, the BBC will pay around £103m in cash, take on UKTV debt of approximately £70m – currently financed by Discovery – and give the US group “at least” £10m from the existing cash on UKTV’s balance sheet, which would have been used for dividend pay-outs.