UKTV agrees first product placement deal

UKTV, the pay-TV channel operator behind Dave, Watch and Gold, has agreed its first product placement deal for a new show on Yesterday.

The broadcaster has signed a multi-layered agreement with Brightsolid, the DC Thomson-owned company behind genealogy websites such as Find My Past, Genes Reunited and Friends Reunited, which it acquired from ITV last year in a £25 million deal.

Brightsolid will fund a new ten-part series called Find My Past on factual channel Yesterday, in exchange for brand exposure in the titles and associated marketing.

Find My Past, being produced by Lion Television, will use the findmypast.co.uk website to show how three "seemingly unrelated" members of the public are linked to well known historical events, such as Dunkirk or the sinking of the Titanic.

UKTV, which is jointly owned by BBC Worldwide and Virgin Media, will broadcast the programme in the fourth quarter of this year on Freeview channel Yesterday.

John Robertson, marketing director of Brightsolid Online Publishing, said: "Connecting people and places is at the heart of our business, so this investigative, historical format with a gripping human interest storyline is a natural fit.

"As a company with pioneering family history brands, we're very excited to be leading the way in advertising-funded programming."

Sally Quick, head of commercial partnerships at UKTV, added: "Findmypast.co.uk already has a strong commercial association with us as Yesterday's main sponsor, so finding and developing a fresh genealogy TV format to co-fund has been a natural next step.

"Born out of what was originally an AFP (advertiser-funded programme) deal, Find My Past offers Brightsolid the perfect product placement opportunity as we're able to seamlessly integrate its websites into the content via interactive exposure by the contributors themselves."

Also this week, ITV was censured by media regulator Ofcom for featuring overly promotional reviews of new video games and gadgets in children's programme Cool Stuff Collective.