As of today, Channel 5 and My5 have relaunched as 5, bringing the U.K. broadcaster’s linear and streaming platforms together under one brand.
As well as being the destination for all of Channel 5’s drama originals, factual and kids’ programming from Milkshake!, 5 will feature a significantly expanded content offering drawn from Paramount’s family of brands, including BET, CBS, Comedy Central and MTV Entertainment Studios, plus the opportunity to sample hits from Paramount+ and more—available both live and on-demand and all free of charge. Viewers will also have access to a wide range of boxsets, such as The Good Wife, Dexter and The Following.
Also, 15 new live channels, curated from some of Paramount’s most popular shows, are now available on 5’s streaming service. The FAST channels include Police Interceptors, 5 Cops, Bargain Loving Brits, Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly, The Yorkshire Vet, Geordie Shore, Catfish, Teen Mom, MTV Reality and Milkshake!, with more channels to follow throughout the year.
Over the next few months, 5 will roll out across all platforms and devices where My5 is currently available.
Sarah Rose, president of 5 and U.K. regional lead at Paramount, said, “This is the start of a new and exciting era for 5 as we bring together our linear and streaming services under one clear brand. Everything our audience and our advertisers already love about Channel 5 will be central to this relaunch—but there will be much more besides, with a huge array of content from the Paramount family and beyond, new live channels and a brand-new user experience for our streaming product.”
Ben Frow, chief content officer at 5, said, “We have always been led by our audience and bringing Channel 5 and My5 together as 5 reflects our ambition that they can watch or stream whichever way suits them best.
“There is a huge breadth of new content on streaming for viewers to discover, but the heart of 5 will always be our commitment to originated, U.K.-produced public service content, including our award-winning factual and more hours of original drama than we have ever commissioned.
“With an unmissable nationwide marketing campaign that is bigger than anything we’ve done before, I hope we can open the eyes of those who haven’t previously watched with us to some of the fantastic shows we have to entertain them.”
