Channel 5 often gets lost in the debate about streaming and British public service broadcasters. I confess I don’t spend much, if any time watching it. However, recent figures show plenty of people do. There is something very interesting going on there.
Over 31 million people watched a Channel 5 property last month. That is a little down on the same time last year, which was approaching 34 million, but I still found that number quite staggering. The company also likes to point out that My5, the outgoing name of its streaming service, grew by 53% in 2024, the highest of any of the public service broadcasters’ streaming services. The figures now put them in a similar space to Channel 4 and well clear of things like U and Warner Bros. properties.
Another Channel 5 Rebrand
The channel had another rebrand recently, bringing together its linear and streaming offerings under the single ‘5’ banner. There are documentaries, kids TV and various Paramount properties available in this tied-up package.
Sarah Rose, president of 5 and UK regional lead at parent company Paramount, described this as “the start of a new and exciting era” when making the announcement last week. Ben Frow, chief content officer at 5, said that the heart of 5 will always be our commitment to originated, UK produced public service content – including our award winning factual and more hours of original drama than we have ever commissioned.”
5 seems to have found itself occupying a popular space – documentaries fronted by somewhat older, popular (often male,) celebrities. There is shows from Michael Palin, Dara O’Briain, James May and Ben Fogle available to stream. There are also shows about Harry and Meghan, the Middletons and the Blake Lively vs Justin Baldoni scandal. It’s not HBO, but it’s clearly the kind of thing that draws in viewers.
As viewers look to maximise the amount of content they can access for free the all-new 5 will be one to watch.
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