This month UK broadcasters UKTV and Channel 4 announced a multi-year carriage deal in which 100s of on-demand titles from UKTV’s streaming service, U, will be available on Channel 4’s own BVOD service. This type of partnership, in which a local broadcaster carries a third-party library from another, is the first of its kind in the UK, making this deal a historic milestone.

It also reflects a growing appetite, in the UK and beyond, for innovative content partnerships between nominal rivals, as local broadcasters face increased competition from the giant global streamers.

UKTV, owned by the BBC Studios, will begin its content rollout on Channel 4’s streaming service in January 2026, offering both Originals from its own U streaming service such as Big Zuu’s Big Eats and Bangers & Cash alongside library titles including The Office (UK), Red Dwarf and QI.

A key benefit for UKTV is the chance to grow its audience among younger demographics. Currently, U users skew older: 29% of internet users who used U in the last month were aged 35-44, a further 29% aged 45-54 and 24% aged 55-64, according to Ampere’s Consumer data for Q3 2025, while just 3% were aged 18-24. Being on Channel 4’s service will expose U’s content to a younger-skewing audience, and also a larger one: 30% of UK consumers aged 18-64 use Channel 4 monthly but don’t use U.

Channel 4 also stands to benefit from diversifying its library with the introduction of UKTV content. While it over-indexes among younger viewers compared to U - 35% of respondents who reported using Channel 4 in the last month were aged 18-34-year-olds, according to Ampere’s Consumer data - it under-indexes among older viewers. This UKTV partnership therefore gives Channel 4 the opportunity to widen its audience too.

More generally, this new partnership is a response from the UK broadcasting industry to the growth of global streamers within the market, and an acknowledgement that collaboration with nominal rivals can offer create solutions for both parties. Depending on the success of this partnership, we may see more of these arrangements between BVOD services in the UK and across Europe.

One potential issue is if government bodies feel that such partnerships are anti-competitive and could lead to cannibalisation of the market and less choice for viewers. But the upside for beleaguered broadcasters is clear: By diversifying content with a third-party library, they can increase their reach and their library, and widen their audience engagement.