Last year saw a push among European broadcasters to revamp their streaming (BVOD) services, most notably French broadcasters TF1 and M6 launching new BVOD offerings designed to boost their digital revenues. Entering the new year, further transitions are on the horizon, and UK-based Channel 5 looks set to be the next broadcaster in line for a digital makeover.
Back in August, the Paramount-owned broadcaster announced plans to rebrand the channel under the name ‘5’, and update its My5 BVOD service to include free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels and content from other Paramount networks.
Though more details are expected to come this year, Lee Sears, Paramount’s President of International Markets Advertising Sales, tells VideoWeek that the new offering will include data-led ad opportunities and more personalisation for advertisers.
“2025 is set to be an exciting year for Channel 5,” says Sears. “Reflecting the ongoing success of the channel’s audience transition to streaming, next year sees the launch of 5, a new parent brand for our linear, digital and streaming audiences. This means an improved streaming service with a hugely expanded content offer and a major marketing push, along with even more new originally commissioned shows for our viewers. We’re looking forward to offering advertisers greater personalisation and enhanced data-led advertising opportunities which we’ll be able to talk about more this year.”
A unified video ad product
The announcement came during a rocky period for parent company Paramount, whose owner Shari Redstone eventually reached an agreement to sell the company – including Channel 5 – to US studio Skydance Media. But the UK business is in “rude health”, according to Lee Sears, citing double-digit revenue growth on My5, as the European ad market starts to recover after a particularly tough 2023.
“Broadly speaking, the market is showing signs of recovery after recent uncertainties and we are starting to see confidence return in terms of client budgets,” comments Sears. “However, 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.”
The company is therefore looking to improve its digital ad offering as part of the new BVOD service, as well as expanding its content slate to shows from MTV Entertainment Studios, CBS and Comedy Central. The plans echo similar moves by UK broadcaster ITV, which has made original content available exclusively on the ITVX streaming service.
However, the most high-profile titles in the Paramount library (including South Park and Star Trek) are currently hosted on the company’s paid subscription service, Paramount+, which introduced an ad-supported tier for UK customers in November. And the 5 streaming service will also host FAST channels, again raising the question of potential overlap with Paramount’s free ad-supported streaming service Pluto TV.
Combining these different distribution channels will be key to Paramount’s European strategy this year, as the broadcaster aims to build out a “unified video ad product” that grants advertisers access to content across these streaming services.
“In 2025 our focus will remain on offering advertisers a truly convergent opportunity across this vast ecosystem,” says Sears. “We will be building out our unified video ad product across SVOD, AVOD and BVOD globally to provide clients with even more sophisticated opportunities to get closer to our quality IP and benefit from being associated with our shows whilst tapping into audiences at scale.”
