Mark Sweney 

National lottery results show moves from BBC to ITV

Camelot deal sees show return to primetime TV, to be broadcast during Britain’s Got Talent
  
  

Stephen Mulhern
Stephen Mulhern will host the new-look show. Photograph: Ken McKay/ITV/Rex/Shutterstock

The national lottery results are to be broadcast on ITV for the first time, ending a run of almost 25 years on the BBC.

Camelot, the operator of the lottery, has struck a deal to transfer the results show to ITV in a move that will return it to primetime TV.

In January 2017 the show moved from BBC One to the iPlayer catch-up and on-demand TV service.

The first edition of the new-look programme, presented by Stephen Mulhern, will last 90 seconds and be aired in an ad break during Britain’s Got Talent on Saturday.

Mulhern, who also hosts spin-off show Britain’s Got More Talent, will be joined by a range of ITV personalities in future editions of the results show.

“The national lottery is an iconic institution and I’m hugely excited to be part of its return to primetime Saturday night TV,” said Mulhern.

Camelot said it made the decision to move to ITV after a strategic review that the lottery needed to be “far more relevant and visible”.

The draw itself will not be broadcast on ITV, but will be available on the national lottery’s YouTube channel.

Camelot said the show would appear in different formats throughout the year.

“One of the outcomes of our recent strategic review was to make the national lottery and its purpose far more relevant and visible,” said Hayley Stringfellow, the head of brand marketing at Camelot. “What better way to do this than by partnering with ITV to deliver the results during some of the most popular primetime shows.”

Results will still be read out on BBC One four nights a week. The live results show had been on BBC One from the first draw in 1994 until last year.

“The national lottery has been a big part of Saturday nights since 1994 and we’re delighted to be bringing the Lotto results to viewers during ITV’s flagship Saturday night entertainment shows,” said Simon Daglish, the deputy managing director at ITV Commercial.

Camelot has operated the national lottery since its launch, and is in its third licence, agreed in 2009. This was amended in 2012, with the end date extended by four years to 2023.

Earlier this month MPs on the public accounts committee said the Gambling Commission should pressure Camelot to change the way it runs the lottery after a 15% fall in the amount of money going to good causes in the year to March 2017. That followed a drop in overall lottery sales amid a shift to buying scratchcards over draw tickets.

 

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