Channel 5, the Paramount-owned UK channel, has become the latest European broadcaster to revamp its streaming offering, replacing its My5 BVOD platform with a rebranded streaming service called 5. The new offering combines Channel 5’s linear network and catch-up service under the new brand, alongside other Paramount content, including programming from CBS, Comedy Central and MTV, as well as selected titles from Paramount+.
The announcement also confirms that Paramount has dropped plans to merge My5 with Pluto TV, the US broadcaster’s free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) service. Instead, 5 will feature 15 FAST channels curated from Paramount shows, including Police Interceptors, Geordie Shore and The Yorkshire Vet, alongside channels based around the network’s MTV Reality content and Channel 5’s children’s strand Milkshake!
In the coming months, the new streaming service will roll out across all platforms and devices where My5 is currently available, according to Channel 5. These include pay-TV (Sky, Virgin Media, EE TV and TalkTalk) and CTV platforms (Freely, Freeview Play, Samsung, LG, Fire TV, Roku, Google TV, tvOS), as well as mobile devices (iOS and Android) and channel5.com. The broadcaster is also launching a national marketing campaign for the new streaming service, which will run across OOH, TV, radio, online and social.
“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,” said Sarah Rose, President of 5 and UK Regional Lead at Paramount. “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.”
Fresh revenue streams
The launch sees Channel 5 following in the footsteps of other European broadcasters (including ITV and Channel 4 in the UK, and TF1 and M6 in France) transitioning their content to streaming services to meet the demand for online viewing, and to attract digital ad revenues in order to offset a declining linear TV market. These moves seek to evolve their BVOD offerings from catch-up services to broader streaming propositions, with content slates that expand the programming found on linear channels.
Speaking about the plans in January, Lee Sears, President of International Markets Advertising Sales at Paramount, told VideoWeek that 5 would offer “hugely expanded content” along with “more new originally commissioned shows for our viewers.”
The advertiser proposition is also expected to evolve, with “greater personalisation and enhanced data-led advertising opportunities” to be announced this year. Sears said Paramount is building out a “unified video ad product” across its SVOD, AVOD and BVOD services, in order to provide advertisers a single point of access to the Paramount portfolio. “With the continuing rise in digital ad spend and influx of inventory it is more important than ever for publishers to provide ease of transaction and measurement alongside brand-safe, premium IP,” Sears told VideoWeek.
The famous 5
And while Sears sees the TV ad market “showing signs of recovery”, Channel 5 viewing trails audiences on the BBC, ITV and Channel 4. Barb data reveals that Channel 5’s share of viewing has held steady at around 7 percent of total broadcaster viewing (which includes BVOD) in the UK for the last few years.
But taken in isolation, uptake of the BVOD service is growing, according to Barb, with My5 viewing minutes up 53 percent YoY in 2024. An updated user interface, combined with the expanded content library offering free access to hit shows like The Good Wife and Dexter, could help the revamped service gain further traction, though discoverability of that content in a saturated streaming market will be key.
Here the channel’s involvement with Freely, the UK public service broadcasters’ (PSB) joint streaming app, will play an important role, with Freely seeking to maintain the prominence of PSB content in a streaming environment. And with additional programming coming to the new streaming service, 5 will likely be adding fresh titles to the content available on Freely.
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