CHANNEL 5 has revealed that its streaming service will undergo a huge revamp featuring some premium shows from the likes of MTV and Comedy Central.
Owner Paramount has scrapped plans to merge the service with Pluto TV, the free TV streaming platform.
Instead, the two will continue to exist separately – and Channel 5‘s My5 app will go through some big changes.
The most immediate and noticeable difference will be to it’s name.
Next year, it will receive an overhaul taking on the simple name of 5, just like its flagship channel.
It follows a similar move by rival Channel 4, which dropped its All4 name to take on the company’s main title.
But when the revamp takes place there will be some new content to look forward to as well.
The new 5 platform will have FAST (free ad-supported streaming TV) channels with specially curated content.
It comes as a number of Channel 5’s shows have seen success on Netflix.
This includes true crime drama series Maxine, and reality shows 24 Hours In Lidl, 24 Hours In Tesco and Rich House, Poor House.
Ben Frow, chief content officer, Paramount UK said. “We know from the success that so many of our Channel 5 shows have had on Netflix that there’s a huge appetite for our content in the streaming world.
“As we relaunch as 5, our streaming service will be a much bigger and broader offer than My5 with a significantly expanded range of content including new series and box sets in reality, drama, factual and kids from across the Paramount family.”
The streaming service will still be free and will feature shows from Paramount’s other brands, such as MTV Entertainment Studios, CBS, and Comedy Central, Milkshake!, Paramount+, and Nickelodeon.
Channel 5’s new platform is set to launch early next year.
“We have seen record growth for My5 viewing over the last three years and, as more of our audience discover streaming, we think it’s the right time to have a much closer relationship between our linear and streaming services,” Sarah Rose, president of Channel 5 and UK regional lead at Paramount, added.
“The new exciting content and Fast channels that we’ll be offering on 5 from 2025 will build on the amazing array of homegrown Channel 5 hits we know our audience already love.”
