Paramount UK network 5 (formerly Channel 5) is defying linear naysayers once again by launching a drama network airing the likes of All Creatures Great and Small, American hits like Gilmore Girls and the BBC’s Waterloo Road.
Replacing the 5Select channel, 5Drama will launch October 21 with a collection of 5 originals, American imports and Australian series including popular soap Home and Away.
British drama will air at peak times in the evening including originals like 5’s smash All Creatures Great and Small reboot, which airs on PBS Masterpiece in the U.S., while weekday afternoons will be dedicated to U.S. shows like Gilmore Girls, Columbo and ABC’s A Million Little Things. Home and Away will start from ep 1 in the afternoons.
Intriguingly, the new channel also has rights to the first 10 seasons of long-running BBC school series Waterloo Road, seasons that aired between 2006 and 2014 before it was rebooted in 2023.
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5Drama joins a Paramount UK linear roster including the main 5 channel, 5Action, 5Star and 5USA.
Launching a linear channel may feel anachronistic and comes at a time when the BBC is set to close at least one but under maverick content chief Ben Frow, 5 has leaned in to linear. It is the only network to have grown linear share over the past few years and regularly beats rivals Channel 4 and BBC Two in the overnights.
The news comes in the week that Paramount-Warner’s $110B deal terms included divestiture targets for American linear networks like BET, VH1 and Comedy Central. 5 in the UK so far appears protected, although details on how the deal will shake out internationally remain to be seen.
5 boss Reemah Sakaan said: “Award winning drama is increasingly at the heart of what 5 offers viewers, so it’s the right time to give it a dedicated home. This, and the expansion of our portfolio across multiple platforms, is about sharpening our channels and giving viewers a clear offer wherever they’re watching – on linear, 5Streaming, Freely or YouTube.”
Meanwhile on the other end of the digital scale, 5 is launching a YouTube channel for documentaries, joining recently-launched 5 sports, news and kids channels on the platform.
