Channel Five
Encyclopedia
Channel 5 is a television network
that broadcasts in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1997, it was the fifth and final national terrestrial analogue network to launch. The station was branded as Five between 2002 and 2010. After his purchase of the station from RTL
on 23 July 2010, Richard Desmond
announced plans to invest more money in programming and return to the name Channel 5 with immediate effect, prior to an official relaunch on 14 February 2011 which was also applied to 5 News.
The new on-screen look for Channel 5 went live on 14 February 2011 with new idents, on-screen DOG
and website address. The relaunch has also seen investment in a range of new programming with the debut of the nightly entertainment show, OK! TV
. Audience figures for the relaunch were boosted with increased viewing figures for the main 5 News bulletins and improved figures for OK! TV in the 18:30 slot over its predecessor Live from Studio Five
.
The channel is a general entertainment channel, with internally commissioned shows such as The Gadget Show
and Fifth Gear
appearing alongside numerous international programmes such as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
, Neighbours
and Home and Away
. The channel has historically had the lowest audience of Britain's five terrestrial television channels, usually lagging well behind its main four terrestrial rivals with a viewing share of around 5%. During live football coverage, the channel often enjoys significantly larger audiences as high as 12%.
On 18 August 2011 Channel 5 launched a revived version of Big Brother UK
, starting with Celebrity Big Brother
followed by Big Brother 2011
. The format has been refreshed and revamped with new hosts and an opulent new look has been given to the house. The first Channel 5 housemates to enter the house included Kerry Katona
and twins Jedward
. The launch show received 5.3 million viewers, giving the channel its highest-ever audience for an entertainment show.
The channel sponsor is the Nokia
Lumia series of mobile phones.
and the Italian politician and media tycoon Silvio Berlusconi
(who a few months later retired his offer), was rejected outright and the Independent Television Commission
contemplated not awarding the licence at all.
The difficulty with the project lay in use of television broadcast frequencies that had been allocated to RF outputs from domestic video recorders. To achieve national coverage, large numbers of domestic video recorders (which output at a nearby frequency) had to be retuned or fitted with a filter, at the bidding company's expense.
The project was revived in mid-1994 when the Independent Television Commission
re-advertised the franchise. Tom McGrath, then-president of Time Warner International Broadcasting, put together a revised frequency plan with NTL
and consulting engineer Ellis Griffiths, involving less re-tuning and greater signal coverage. Lord Hollick
, then CEO of Meridian Broadcasting
(later United News & Media, and UBM) took up the project as lead investor as UK law prohibited Time Warner from owning more than 25%. Pearson Television, who by now owned original licence bidders Thames Television, also came on board. When McGrath left to become President of Paramount, Time Warner dropped out of the project and was replaced by CLT (known in the UK for Radio Luxembourg
). Pearson Television and CLT later merged, becoming RTL Group
who became part of Bertelsmann
and, control the network, after buying UBM's 35.4% stake for £247.6 million on 20 July 2005. The acquisition was approved on 26 August 2005. After Holleck became involved, he and McGrath brought on board Greg Dyke
(later Director-General of the BBC
) as interim CEO during the application and launch phase of the project.
On 27 February 2004, it was reported that Five and Channel 4
were discussing a possible merger. Some comics joked that the merged company should call itself Chanel 9 after the spoof
foreign network on The Fast Show
. Channel 4
and Five announced in November of that year that merger plans were being called off. Early in 2009, rumours started re-surfacing about Five, Channel 4
and ITV
conducting a 3-way merger.
Five was taken over by Richard Desmond
's publishing group Northern & Shell on 23 July 2010 for £103.5 million. Desmond pledged to top up the broadcaster's total budget to about £1.5bn over the next five years, including new investment of £50m to £100m a year to boost programming and the equivalent of £20m promoting the channel and its shows in a marketing campaign in Northern & Shell publications.
The takeover was partly motivated by the opportunities for cross-promotion
of Five from Desmond's newspapers (Daily Express
and Daily Star) and magazines (including OK!
). One commentator warned that "readers will be bombarded with references to Five. The opportunity for cross-promotion between his publications and TV channel are enormous."
were the main companies behind the pre-launch advertising campaign: "Give Me 5". The channel would be both modern and mainstream. A logo (a numeric "5" within a circle) and visual motif (a "candy stripe" bar of colours) were used, and an attempt was made to establish a collection of Channel 5 faces; through the spring of 1997, billboards of Jack Docherty
were displayed, along with other unknown characters.
A series of pre-launch screens were displayed on the frequencies Channel 5 would begin broadcasting on in the months before launch as well, including a trailer for the channel and information screens.
After an exhaustive re-tuning system, 65% of the population could view the channel by launch night.
singing a re-written version of Manfred Mann
's hit "5-4-3-2-1" as "1-2-3-4-5". Presenters Tim Vine
and Julia Bradbury
introduced the nation to the UK's fifth terrestrial channel with half an hour of previews.
The rest of the Channel 5 launch night schedule, along with the official viewing figures were as follows:
Overall, an estimated 2,490,000 tuned in to see Britain's fifth free network launch, a figure higher than that achieved by launch of Channel 4
, fourteen and a half years earlier.
. The channel's director of marketing at the time, David Pullen, said:
newspaper noted that the channel's name was to change: "From today the rather vague 'Five' (five what? Days of the week? Fingers?) reverts to the much more informative Channel 5". On 11 August 2010, Desmond confirmed the restoration of the name from 1997–2002, Channel 5. The restoration was revealed on television in 14 February 2011.
. (See Digital television in the United Kingdom).
On 18 November 2005, it was announced that Five had bought a stake in DTT
's pay-TV operator, Top Up TV
. It was said that the investment may lead to the development of new free and pay services on DTT, and other platforms.
Following this, Five launched two new digital TV channels in autumn 2006 on Freeview, Sky and Virgin Media
:
Spin-offs from the broadcaster's existing hits are also aired on the sister channels.
channels 35 and 37 could provide coverage of around 70% of the UK population. However, these channels were used by many domestic video recorders for RF connection to television sets. Before the channel could launch, the broadcaster had to provide over-the-phone instructions or visit any home that complained in order to either retune the video recorder or fit a filter to completely block the Channel 5 signal.
For many transmitters, channels 35 and 37 were 'out of group', which meant that the roof-top receiving aerials
were not designed to cover Channel 5's broadcast channels. Many people either could not receive the channel at all, or required a new aerial. The broadcaster has added to the transmitters to improve the analogue terrestrial coverage since that time. The channel was also provided on the analogue Astra
/BSkyB service, which enabled people outside the terrestrial reception areas to receive it via a satellite dish.
Unlike the other four analogue British television
channels, the channel cannot be received via analogue terrestrial broadcasts in many areas, including some parts of the south coast of England, where the signal would otherwise interfere with signals from television stations in France, many areas of North East England, especially around the major Tyne & Wear conurbation, many areas in Scotland, most of Wales and parts of Cumbria. The channel is available on all digital platforms (Freesat
, Sky satellite, TalkTalk TV, IPTV
and Freeview digital terrestrial, and also most cable operators). On 5 November 2008, the channel launched on digital satellite service Freesat, on the Astra 28.2°E
satellites.
The channel was the first analogue network in the UK to use a permanent digital on-screen graphic
, though this was removed in September 2002. In October 2007, the channel's logo returned to the screen.
Channel 5 is available in Switzerland on Cablecom
, but unlike the other UK terrestrial channels, it is not available on cable or MMDS in the Republic of Ireland
, the first such service not to be available in the Republic. However, its terrestrial signal can be received in areas bordering Northern Ireland
, or coastal areas close to Wales, and since going free-to-air on 5 November 2008 to join Freesat
, it is now available in Republic of Ireland with a digital satellite receiver.
On 30 September 2009, Five temporarily ceased broadcasting on Freeview from around 09:30 until 12:00, this was due to changes to the Freeview platform, which meant moving Channel 5 from a commercial multiplex to a public service broadcasting multiplex to increase the coverage of the channel from around 70% to 99% across the country on relay transmitters that only carried the three PSB multiplexes but did not carry the three commercial multiplexes.
simulcast
of Channel 5. The channel launched on Sky channel 171 and Virgin Media
channel 150 on 13 July 2010.
Upon the launch, only the Australian soaps Neighbours and Home and Away were shown in HD, with the letters HD placed in the top right hand corner of the screen.
Channel 5 HD will launch on Freeview in spring or early summer 2012 pending approval by Ofcom
.
, Freeview and Sky on 6 December 2011. The channel is also expected to be made available via Virgin Media
in 2012.
(DOG) in the top left-hand corner. On some programmes in the channel's early years, commercial breaks were introduced by an "end of part one" sign emerging horizontally from the DOG; when the programme returns after the break, this would become a "part two" sign, which then disappears back into the DOG.
On 14 April 1997, Teletext reported that 70% of viewers who took part in a poll were in favour of removing the DOG. Channel 5 however, refused to remove it; though did state since launch, the DOG had been toned down. Channel 5 explained their reasons for keeping the DOG on screen, in an interview on 30 March 1997, they explained that:
In 1999, Channel 5 launched its new 'white' idents, making the candy stripe more frequently used in idents and graphics. That also changed in 2000, when the last ident set came in 2002, marking a break from the 'Channel 5' branding. The latter was revived in 2011.
In 2002, Channel 5 took the decision to drop the word 'Channel' from its name and refer to the channel as 'five'. A new look launched on 16 September 2002. The informal name "Five" was used in early continuity announcements and idents containing a lower case 'five' had been used on the channel from the launch.
On 6 October 2008 at 21:00, Five aired a new look, replacing the lower-case "five" logo with an upper-case "FIVE". The rebrand was conducted by DixonBaxi, and according to them, the new look was "more vocal, expressive and creative."
The look was refreshed in July 2009, making the logo notably larger. As part of the refresh, special idents were made for popular shows such as The Mentalist
, Paul Merton in Europe
, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
, The Gadget Show
and FlashForward
.
's Northern & Shell Group, major changes and considerable financial investment were promised by the new owners, alongside a return to the 'Channel 5' moniker.
In October 2010, Desmond revealed the station's new look and confirmed its official on-screen identity as "Five" during a press launch. Desmond promoted these changes in his tabloid newspapers, the Daily Express
and Daily Star. There is also cross-promotion between Northern & Shell's newspaper and magazine titles with their websites promoted on the Channel 5 website. In 2010, afternoon movies on Channel 5 were sponsored by the Daily Express.
The new logo for Five replaced the "FIVE" logo on 14 February 2011. The logo is a "5" in a red circle. The extended version of the logo has the word "CHANNEL" in upper case font to its left. The launch DOG revived the "5" motif, originally as an opaque 5 cutout in a white circle. From 18 February 2011, the DOG was modified to a white translucent "5" on a faint grey circle.
A range of new idents for Channel 5 were launched in February 2011 incorporating the "5" motif featuring live action and CGI
elements. They echo the predominantly red colour scheme of the channel's new corporate image, each based in a spacious studio with a large screen as the backdrop for the action. "Drums" features a female musician playing a drum kit against a backdrop of animated shapes with the "5" appearing on a screen behind. In "Equaliser", a "5" contained in a cube emerges from a graphic equaliser display. "Imagination" features a battle between a toy dinosaur and robot figure with the "5" logo imposed in neon lights (outlined). "VIP" features a model walking on a red carpet formed from the big screen with the logo formed out of the camera flashes. "Car Chase" features a police car chasing another car which eventually crash 'through' the big screen with the logo being on the side of the police car. Several special idents have also been used for 'The Hotel Inspector', 'The Walking Dead', 'Impossible?', 'Big Brother UK', 'The Bachelor', 'Europa League', and 'Nokia Lumia' also based around the same theme of the studio and screen. Programme preview cards feature a the font "Gotham" in upper case. Break bumpers feature the "Five" logo in the left-hand corner of the screen with a pattern of circles radiating out from the logo in an alternating red and black colour scheme. The latter continue to feature before and after each commercial.
Below is the official audience shares in percent for Channel 5 since 1997. The channel consistently has the lowest rating of the UK's five terrestrial television networks.
Audience share rose consistently for the first seven years of broadcast, reaching a peak of 6.6% in 2004. Two years later, however, the audience share had dropped to under 5%.
but due to return to ITN in 2012. The channel airs documentaries and lifestyle programmes following the lives of so called '8 O'Clock Heroes'. The channel frequently sticks to a regular schedule, which includes the programme Home and Away
at 18:00 followed by OK! TV
at 18.25, 5 News at 19:00 and Big Brother (UK)
later in the evening.
Flagship programmes for the channel include the early morning chat programme The Wright Stuff
at 9:15am and afternoon Australian soap's Neighbours
(at 13:45) and Home and Away
(at 13:15) each weekday.
service providing a basic range of programme listings, film summaries and programme previews of Channel 5 content. The service was provided by Sky Text
for several years and later provided by BigStream Interactive in Surrey, UK. The service was withdrawn due to the digital switchover and shift to internet and social media.
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
that broadcasts in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1997, it was the fifth and final national terrestrial analogue network to launch. The station was branded as Five between 2002 and 2010. After his purchase of the station from RTL
RTL Television
Rtl.de' redirects here. For other uses, see RTL.RTL Television , or simply RTL, is a German commercial television station distributed via cable and satellite along with DVB-T , in larger population centres...
on 23 July 2010, Richard Desmond
Richard Desmond
Richard Clive Desmond is an English publisher and businessman. He is the owner of Express Newspapers and founder in 1974 of Northern & Shell, which publishes various celebrity magazines, such as OK! and New!, and British national newspapers Daily Star and Daily Express...
announced plans to invest more money in programming and return to the name Channel 5 with immediate effect, prior to an official relaunch on 14 February 2011 which was also applied to 5 News.
The new on-screen look for Channel 5 went live on 14 February 2011 with new idents, on-screen DOG
Digital on-screen graphic
A digital on-screen graphic is a watermark-like station logo that many television broadcasters overlay over a portion of the screen-area of their programs to identify the channel...
and website address. The relaunch has also seen investment in a range of new programming with the debut of the nightly entertainment show, OK! TV
OK! TV
OK! TV is an early evening magazine programme, broadcast on Channel 5 as a brand extension of celebrity title OK! Magazine. It replaced Live from Studio Five on 14 February 2011, and was presented by Kate Walsh and Matt Johnson, both of which have since left the programme. Jeff Brazier and Jenny...
. Audience figures for the relaunch were boosted with increased viewing figures for the main 5 News bulletins and improved figures for OK! TV in the 18:30 slot over its predecessor Live from Studio Five
Live from Studio Five
Live From Studio Five was an early evening, British magazine programme which was produced by Sky News for Channel 5. The show was presented by Kate Walsh and a line-up of other co-presenters during its run. It consisted of interviews and discussing topical issues, with an emphasis on showbusiness...
.
The channel is a general entertainment channel, with internally commissioned shows such as The Gadget Show
The Gadget Show
The Gadget Show is a British television series focusing on technology and is broadcast on Channel 5. Originally a thirty minute show, it was extended to forty-five minutes, then later to fifty five minutes. Repeats have also aired on the digital channels 5*, Dave and Channel 5's Internet on-demand...
and Fifth Gear
Fifth Gear
Fifth Gear is a motoring television magazine show from the United Kingdom. Originally shown on Channel 5, the show is currently presented by Tiff Needell, Vicki Butler-Henderson, Jason Plato, Jonny Smith and Ben Collins...
appearing alongside numerous international programmes such as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is an American crime drama television series, which premiered on CBS on October 6, 2000. The show was created by Anthony E. Zuiker and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer...
, Neighbours
Neighbours
Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems...
and Home and Away
Home and Away
Home and Away is an Australian soap opera that has been produced in Sydney since July 1987 and is airing on the Seven Network since 17 January 1988. It is the second-longest-running drama and most popular soap opera on Australian television...
. The channel has historically had the lowest audience of Britain's five terrestrial television channels, usually lagging well behind its main four terrestrial rivals with a viewing share of around 5%. During live football coverage, the channel often enjoys significantly larger audiences as high as 12%.
On 18 August 2011 Channel 5 launched a revived version of Big Brother UK
Big Brother (UK)
Big Brother UK is the British version of the Dutch Big Brother television format, which takes its name from the character in George Orwell's 1948 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four...
, starting with Celebrity Big Brother
Celebrity Big Brother 2011 (UK)
Celebrity Big Brother 2011 was the eighth series of Celebrity Big Brother and the first series of Big Brother UK to air on Channel 5. It launched on 18 August 2011 at 9 pm on Channel 5. It ran for 22 days concluding on 8 September 2011 and was followed by the twelfth regular series of Big Brother...
followed by Big Brother 2011
Big Brother 2011 (UK)
Big Brother 2011 was the twelfth series of the British reality television series of Big Brother. It was broadcast on Channel 5 for the first time since the show's transfer from Channel 4. It launched on the night of Friday 9 September 2011 with an hour and a half long special launch show, the day...
. The format has been refreshed and revamped with new hosts and an opulent new look has been given to the house. The first Channel 5 housemates to enter the house included Kerry Katona
Kerry Katona
Kerry Jayne Elizabeth Katona is an English media personality and singer best known for her television work, predominantly in light entertainment and reality shows. She has also been a pop singer with girl group Atomic Kitten, a magazine columnist, an actress, and the author of ghostwritten books...
and twins Jedward
Jedward
John Paul Henry Daniel Richard Grimes and Edward Peter Anthony Kevin Patrick Grimes are an Irish hip pop duo. They are identical twins and perform under the name Jedward...
. The launch show received 5.3 million viewers, giving the channel its highest-ever audience for an entertainment show.
The channel sponsor is the Nokia
Nokia
Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...
Lumia series of mobile phones.
Company
Channel 5 Broadcasting Limited was licensed by the UK Government in 1995 after a bidding process that started in 1993 and lasted throughout 1994. The initial round of bidders, which included a network of city-TV stations planned by Thames TelevisionThames Television
Thames Television was a licensee of the British ITV television network, covering London and parts of the surrounding counties on weekdays from 30 July 1968 until 31 December 1992....
and the Italian politician and media tycoon Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the...
(who a few months later retired his offer), was rejected outright and the Independent Television Commission
Independent Television Commission
The Independent Television Commission licensed and regulated commercial television services in the United Kingdom between 1 January 1991 and 28 December 2003....
contemplated not awarding the licence at all.
The difficulty with the project lay in use of television broadcast frequencies that had been allocated to RF outputs from domestic video recorders. To achieve national coverage, large numbers of domestic video recorders (which output at a nearby frequency) had to be retuned or fitted with a filter, at the bidding company's expense.
The project was revived in mid-1994 when the Independent Television Commission
Independent Television Commission
The Independent Television Commission licensed and regulated commercial television services in the United Kingdom between 1 January 1991 and 28 December 2003....
re-advertised the franchise. Tom McGrath, then-president of Time Warner International Broadcasting, put together a revised frequency plan with NTL
Arqiva
Arqiva is a telecommunications company which provides infrastructure and broadcast transmission facilities in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. The present company, with headquarters located at Crawley Court in the village of Crawley, Hampshire, was formed by National Grid Wireless...
and consulting engineer Ellis Griffiths, involving less re-tuning and greater signal coverage. Lord Hollick
Clive Hollick, Baron Hollick
Clive Richard Hollick, Baron Hollick is a British businessman with media interests, and a noted supporter of the Labour party.- Early life and career :...
, then CEO of Meridian Broadcasting
Meridian Broadcasting
Meridian Broadcasting is the holder of the ITV franchise for the South and South East of England. The station is owned and operated by ITV plc, under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting Limited....
(later United News & Media, and UBM) took up the project as lead investor as UK law prohibited Time Warner from owning more than 25%. Pearson Television, who by now owned original licence bidders Thames Television, also came on board. When McGrath left to become President of Paramount, Time Warner dropped out of the project and was replaced by CLT (known in the UK for Radio Luxembourg
Radio Luxembourg (English)
Radio Luxembourg is a commercial broadcaster in many languages from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It is nowadays known in most non-English languages as RTL ....
). Pearson Television and CLT later merged, becoming RTL Group
RTL Group
RTL Group is Europe's largest TV, radio and production company, and is majority-owned by German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. It has 45 television and 32 radio stations in 11 countries...
who became part of Bertelsmann
Bertelsmann
Bertelsmann AG is a multinational media corporation founded in 1835, based in Gütersloh, Germany. The company operates in 63 countries and employs 102,983 workers , which makes it the most international media corporation in the world. In 2008 the company reported a €16.118 billion consolidated...
and, control the network, after buying UBM's 35.4% stake for £247.6 million on 20 July 2005. The acquisition was approved on 26 August 2005. After Holleck became involved, he and McGrath brought on board Greg Dyke
Greg Dyke
Gregory "Greg" Dyke is a British media executive, journalist and broadcaster. Since the 1960s, Dyke has a long career in the UK in print and then broadcast journalism. He is credited with introducing 'tabloid' television to British broadcasting, and reviving the ratings of TV-am...
(later Director-General of the BBC
Director-General of the BBC
The Director-General of the British Broadcasting Corporation is chief executive and editor-in-chief of the BBC.The position was formerly appointed by the Board of Governors of the BBC and is now appointed by the BBC Trust....
) as interim CEO during the application and launch phase of the project.
On 27 February 2004, it was reported that Five and Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
were discussing a possible merger. Some comics joked that the merged company should call itself Chanel 9 after the spoof
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
foreign network on The Fast Show
The Fast Show
The Fast Show, known as Brilliant in the US, was a BBC comedy sketch show programme that ran for three series from 1994 to 1997 with a special Last Fast Show Ever in 2000. The show's central performers were Paul Whitehouse, Charlie Higson, Simon Day, Mark Williams, John Thomson, Arabella Weir and...
. Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
and Five announced in November of that year that merger plans were being called off. Early in 2009, rumours started re-surfacing about Five, Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
and ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
conducting a 3-way merger.
Five was taken over by Richard Desmond
Richard Desmond
Richard Clive Desmond is an English publisher and businessman. He is the owner of Express Newspapers and founder in 1974 of Northern & Shell, which publishes various celebrity magazines, such as OK! and New!, and British national newspapers Daily Star and Daily Express...
's publishing group Northern & Shell on 23 July 2010 for £103.5 million. Desmond pledged to top up the broadcaster's total budget to about £1.5bn over the next five years, including new investment of £50m to £100m a year to boost programming and the equivalent of £20m promoting the channel and its shows in a marketing campaign in Northern & Shell publications.
The takeover was partly motivated by the opportunities for cross-promotion
Cross-promotion
Cross-promotion is a form of marketing promotion where customers of one product or service are targeted with promotion of a related product. A typical example is cross-media marketing of a brand, for example Oprah Winfrey's promotion on her television show of her books, magazines and website...
of Five from Desmond's newspapers (Daily Express
Daily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
and Daily Star) and magazines (including OK!
OK!
OK! is a British weekly magazine specializing in celebrity news. Originally launched as a monthly, its first issue was published in April 1993. In September 2004, OK! publishers Northern and Shell launched in Australia as a monthly title – the magazine went weekly in October 2006...
). One commentator warned that "readers will be bombarded with references to Five. The opportunity for cross-promotion between his publications and TV channel are enormous."
Pre-launch activity
Wolf Olins and Saatchi & SaatchiSaatchi & Saatchi
Saatchi & Saatchi is a global advertising agency network with 140 offices in 80 countries and over 6,500 staff. It was founded in London in 1970 but now headquartered in New York. The parent company of the agency group was known as Saatchi & Saatchi PLC from 1976 to 1994, was listed on the London...
were the main companies behind the pre-launch advertising campaign: "Give Me 5". The channel would be both modern and mainstream. A logo (a numeric "5" within a circle) and visual motif (a "candy stripe" bar of colours) were used, and an attempt was made to establish a collection of Channel 5 faces; through the spring of 1997, billboards of Jack Docherty
Jack Docherty
Jack Docherty is a Scottish writer, actor, presenter and producer.-Early career:He first performed at the 1980 Edinburgh Festival Fringe with the comedy sketch group The Bodgers which he formed with George Watson's College schoolfriends Moray Hunter, Gordon Kennedy and Pete Baikie. They performed...
were displayed, along with other unknown characters.
A series of pre-launch screens were displayed on the frequencies Channel 5 would begin broadcasting on in the months before launch as well, including a trailer for the channel and information screens.
After an exhaustive re-tuning system, 65% of the population could view the channel by launch night.
The launch
The channel's launch on 30 March 1997 at 18:00 featured the Spice GirlsSpice Girls
The Spice Girls were a British pop girl group formed in 1994. The group consisted of Victoria Beckham , Melanie Brown, Emma Bunton, Melanie Chisholm and Geri Halliwell. They were signed to Virgin Records and released their debut single, "Wannabe" in 1996, which hit number-one in more than 30...
singing a re-written version of Manfred Mann
Manfred Mann
Manfred Mann was a British beat, rhythm and blues and pop band of the 1960s, named after their South African keyboardist, Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band...
's hit "5-4-3-2-1" as "1-2-3-4-5". Presenters Tim Vine
Tim Vine
Timothy "Tim" Mark Vine is an English actor, writer and comedian. He has released a number of DVDs of his stand-up comedy, as well as starring in the successful series Not Going Out with Lee Mack on the BBC...
and Julia Bradbury
Julia Bradbury
Julia Bradbury is an Irish-born British television presenter, best known for presenting the BBC One programme Countryfile and other documentaries and consumer affairs programmes.-Early years:...
introduced the nation to the UK's fifth terrestrial channel with half an hour of previews.
The rest of the Channel 5 launch night schedule, along with the official viewing figures were as follows:
| Time | Show | Viewers (in millions) |
|---|---|---|
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Family Affairs Family Affairs was a British soap opera broadcast on Five, from 1997 to 2005. It was the second programme to be broadcast on the channel on 30 March 1997, the channel's launch night... |
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Overall, an estimated 2,490,000 tuned in to see Britain's fifth free network launch, a figure higher than that achieved by launch of Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
, fourteen and a half years earlier.
Re-brand as Five (2002)
On 16 September 2002, Channel 5 re-branded to Five, in a multi million pound project directed by Trevor BeattieTrevor Beattie
Trevor Beattie , partner of Beattie McGuinness Bungay, formerly chairman of TBWA London, is an advertising executive responsible for a number of high profile and often controversial advertising campaigns — most notably the "fcuk" campaign for French Connection and the Wonderbra "Hello Boys"...
. The channel's director of marketing at the time, David Pullen, said:
Desmond takeover (2011)
Upon completing his takeover of Five on 23 July 2010, Richard Desmond remarked; "I prefer Channel 5 to Five, but... we haven't met with the team yet to discuss these sort of details". The day after, Desmond's Daily ExpressDaily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
newspaper noted that the channel's name was to change: "From today the rather vague 'Five' (five what? Days of the week? Fingers?) reverts to the much more informative Channel 5". On 11 August 2010, Desmond confirmed the restoration of the name from 1997–2002, Channel 5. The restoration was revealed on television in 14 February 2011.
Multi-channel strategy
British television has undergone a lot of change since Channel 5's launch with the huge growth in digital televisionDigital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
. (See Digital television in the United Kingdom).
On 18 November 2005, it was announced that Five had bought a stake in DTT
Digital terrestrial television
Digital terrestrial television is the technological evolution of broadcast television and advance from analog television, which broadcasts land-based signals...
's pay-TV operator, Top Up TV
Top Up TV
Top Up TV is a pay television service in the UK launched in March 2004, operating on the digital terrestrial platform. The aim of the service is to "Top Up" Freeview customers by providing additional channels and services....
. It was said that the investment may lead to the development of new free and pay services on DTT, and other platforms.
Following this, Five launched two new digital TV channels in autumn 2006 on Freeview, Sky and Virgin Media
Virgin Media
Virgin Media Inc. is a company which provides fixed and mobile telephone, television and broadband internet services to businesses and consumers in the United Kingdom...
:
- 5* Launched on 15 October 2006, providing pre-school shows under the Milkshake!Milkshake!Milkshake! is a television programming block on Channel 5, aimed at children 2 to 7 years old. The strand debuted in 1997 and is broadcast on weekdays from 06:00 to 09:00, and from 07:00 to 10:00 on weekends. Sunday and Monday Mornings its broadcast 05:00 to 09:15/10:00. It used to air on 5*...
banner as well as drama, films, soaps, popular factual and lifestyle shows. The channel originally launched as Five Life, in 2008 it was renamed to Fiver and 5* in 2011
- 5USA Launched on 16 October 2006, offering drama, films, sport, comedy and youth programming from the USA. It originally launched as Five US, but in 2009, it changed from Five US to Five USA, and in 2011 to 5USA
Spin-offs from the broadcaster's existing hits are also aired on the sister channels.
Broadcasting and reception
The British frequency plan had only allowed for four channels to be transmitted over the whole of the UK using analogue terrestrial transmitters, but the ITC identified that UHFUltra high frequency
Ultra-High Frequency designates the ITU Radio frequency range of electromagnetic waves between 300 MHz and 3 GHz , also known as the decimetre band or decimetre wave as the wavelengths range from one to ten decimetres...
channels 35 and 37 could provide coverage of around 70% of the UK population. However, these channels were used by many domestic video recorders for RF connection to television sets. Before the channel could launch, the broadcaster had to provide over-the-phone instructions or visit any home that complained in order to either retune the video recorder or fit a filter to completely block the Channel 5 signal.
For many transmitters, channels 35 and 37 were 'out of group', which meant that the roof-top receiving aerials
Antenna (radio)
An antenna is an electrical device which converts electric currents into radio waves, and vice versa. It is usually used with a radio transmitter or radio receiver...
were not designed to cover Channel 5's broadcast channels. Many people either could not receive the channel at all, or required a new aerial. The broadcaster has added to the transmitters to improve the analogue terrestrial coverage since that time. The channel was also provided on the analogue Astra
SES Astra
Astra is the name for the geostationary communication satellites, both individually and as a group, which are owned and operated by SES S.A., a global satellite operator based in Betzdorf, in eastern Luxembourg. The name is sometimes also used to describe the channels broadcasting from these...
/BSkyB service, which enabled people outside the terrestrial reception areas to receive it via a satellite dish.
Unlike the other four analogue British television
British television
Public television broadcasting started in the United Kingdom in 1936, and now has a collection of free and subscription services over a variety of distribution media, through which there are over 480 channelsTaking the base Sky EPG TV Channels. A breakdown is impossible due to a) the number of...
channels, the channel cannot be received via analogue terrestrial broadcasts in many areas, including some parts of the south coast of England, where the signal would otherwise interfere with signals from television stations in France, many areas of North East England, especially around the major Tyne & Wear conurbation, many areas in Scotland, most of Wales and parts of Cumbria. The channel is available on all digital platforms (Freesat
Freesat
Freesat is a free-to-air digital satellite television joint venture between the BBC and ITV plc, serving the United Kingdom. The service was formed as a memorandum in 2007 and has been marketed since 6 May 2008...
, Sky satellite, TalkTalk TV, IPTV
IPTV
Internet Protocol television is a system through which television services are delivered using the Internet protocol suite over a packet-switched network such as the Internet, instead of being delivered through traditional terrestrial, satellite signal, and cable television formats.IPTV services...
and Freeview digital terrestrial, and also most cable operators). On 5 November 2008, the channel launched on digital satellite service Freesat, on the Astra 28.2°E
Astra 28.2°E
Astra 28.2°E is the name for the group of Astra communications satellites co-located at the 28.2° East position in the Clarke Belt that are owned and operated by SES based in Betzdorf, Luxembourg...
satellites.
The channel was the first analogue network in the UK to use a permanent digital on-screen graphic
Digital on-screen graphic
A digital on-screen graphic is a watermark-like station logo that many television broadcasters overlay over a portion of the screen-area of their programs to identify the channel...
, though this was removed in September 2002. In October 2007, the channel's logo returned to the screen.
Channel 5 is available in Switzerland on Cablecom
Cablecom
UPC Cablecom Holdings GmbH, trading exclusively under the brand name upc cablecom, is the largest broadband cable operator in Switzerland. Founded 1994 through multiple mergers between smaller companies, it is part of Liberty Global Europe's UPC Broadband division since the end of 2005.Cablecom...
, but unlike the other UK terrestrial channels, it is not available on cable or MMDS in the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
, the first such service not to be available in the Republic. However, its terrestrial signal can be received in areas bordering Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, or coastal areas close to Wales, and since going free-to-air on 5 November 2008 to join Freesat
Freesat
Freesat is a free-to-air digital satellite television joint venture between the BBC and ITV plc, serving the United Kingdom. The service was formed as a memorandum in 2007 and has been marketed since 6 May 2008...
, it is now available in Republic of Ireland with a digital satellite receiver.
On 30 September 2009, Five temporarily ceased broadcasting on Freeview from around 09:30 until 12:00, this was due to changes to the Freeview platform, which meant moving Channel 5 from a commercial multiplex to a public service broadcasting multiplex to increase the coverage of the channel from around 70% to 99% across the country on relay transmitters that only carried the three PSB multiplexes but did not carry the three commercial multiplexes.
Channel 5 HD
Channel 5 HD is a high-definitionHigh-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
simulcast
Simulcast
Simulcast, shorthand for "simultaneous broadcast", refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at the same time. For example, Absolute Radio is simulcast on both AM and on satellite radio, and the BBC's Prom concerts are often...
of Channel 5. The channel launched on Sky channel 171 and Virgin Media
Virgin Media
Virgin Media Inc. is a company which provides fixed and mobile telephone, television and broadband internet services to businesses and consumers in the United Kingdom...
channel 150 on 13 July 2010.
Upon the launch, only the Australian soaps Neighbours and Home and Away were shown in HD, with the letters HD placed in the top right hand corner of the screen.
Channel 5 HD will launch on Freeview in spring or early summer 2012 pending approval by Ofcom
Ofcom
Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
.
Channel 5 +1
Channel 5 +1 will launch on FreesatFreesat
Freesat is a free-to-air digital satellite television joint venture between the BBC and ITV plc, serving the United Kingdom. The service was formed as a memorandum in 2007 and has been marketed since 6 May 2008...
, Freeview and Sky on 6 December 2011. The channel is also expected to be made available via Virgin Media
Virgin Media
Virgin Media Inc. is a company which provides fixed and mobile telephone, television and broadband internet services to businesses and consumers in the United Kingdom...
in 2012.
1997–2002
The original Five logo was a numeric "Five" within a circle, sometimes accompanied by "candy stripes" of five colours (an idea based around the colour bars used by vision engineers to monitor picture output). Between 1997 and 2002, Channel 5 was the only UK terrestrial channel to display a digital on-screen graphicDigital on-screen graphic
A digital on-screen graphic is a watermark-like station logo that many television broadcasters overlay over a portion of the screen-area of their programs to identify the channel...
(DOG) in the top left-hand corner. On some programmes in the channel's early years, commercial breaks were introduced by an "end of part one" sign emerging horizontally from the DOG; when the programme returns after the break, this would become a "part two" sign, which then disappears back into the DOG.
On 14 April 1997, Teletext reported that 70% of viewers who took part in a poll were in favour of removing the DOG. Channel 5 however, refused to remove it; though did state since launch, the DOG had been toned down. Channel 5 explained their reasons for keeping the DOG on screen, in an interview on 30 March 1997, they explained that:
In 1999, Channel 5 launched its new 'white' idents, making the candy stripe more frequently used in idents and graphics. That also changed in 2000, when the last ident set came in 2002, marking a break from the 'Channel 5' branding. The latter was revived in 2011.
2002–2008
2008–2011
The look was refreshed in July 2009, making the logo notably larger. As part of the refresh, special idents were made for popular shows such as The Mentalist
The Mentalist
The Mentalist is an American police procedural television series which debuted on September 23, 2008, on CBS. The show was created by Bruno Heller, who is also the show's executive producer...
, Paul Merton in Europe
Paul Merton in Europe
Paul Merton in Europe is a six-part television series airing on Five from 11 January 2010 onwards. The series is a follow up to Paul Merton in India. It follows presenter Paul Merton as he travels around several countries in Europe including Germany, Ireland, Italy, France and Spain . The series...
, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is an American crime drama television series, which premiered on CBS on October 6, 2000. The show was created by Anthony E. Zuiker and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer...
, The Gadget Show
The Gadget Show
The Gadget Show is a British television series focusing on technology and is broadcast on Channel 5. Originally a thirty minute show, it was extended to forty-five minutes, then later to fifty five minutes. Repeats have also aired on the digital channels 5*, Dave and Channel 5's Internet on-demand...
and FlashForward
Flashforward
A flashforward is an interjected scene that takes the narrative forward in time from the current point of the story in literature, film, television and other media. Flashforwards are often used to represent events expected, projected, or imagined to occur in the future...
.
2011–present
After the takeover by Richard DesmondRichard Desmond
Richard Clive Desmond is an English publisher and businessman. He is the owner of Express Newspapers and founder in 1974 of Northern & Shell, which publishes various celebrity magazines, such as OK! and New!, and British national newspapers Daily Star and Daily Express...
's Northern & Shell Group, major changes and considerable financial investment were promised by the new owners, alongside a return to the 'Channel 5' moniker.
In October 2010, Desmond revealed the station's new look and confirmed its official on-screen identity as "Five" during a press launch. Desmond promoted these changes in his tabloid newspapers, the Daily Express
Daily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
and Daily Star. There is also cross-promotion between Northern & Shell's newspaper and magazine titles with their websites promoted on the Channel 5 website. In 2010, afternoon movies on Channel 5 were sponsored by the Daily Express.
The new logo for Five replaced the "FIVE" logo on 14 February 2011. The logo is a "5" in a red circle. The extended version of the logo has the word "CHANNEL" in upper case font to its left. The launch DOG revived the "5" motif, originally as an opaque 5 cutout in a white circle. From 18 February 2011, the DOG was modified to a white translucent "5" on a faint grey circle.
A range of new idents for Channel 5 were launched in February 2011 incorporating the "5" motif featuring live action and CGI
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
elements. They echo the predominantly red colour scheme of the channel's new corporate image, each based in a spacious studio with a large screen as the backdrop for the action. "Drums" features a female musician playing a drum kit against a backdrop of animated shapes with the "5" appearing on a screen behind. In "Equaliser", a "5" contained in a cube emerges from a graphic equaliser display. "Imagination" features a battle between a toy dinosaur and robot figure with the "5" logo imposed in neon lights (outlined). "VIP" features a model walking on a red carpet formed from the big screen with the logo formed out of the camera flashes. "Car Chase" features a police car chasing another car which eventually crash 'through' the big screen with the logo being on the side of the police car. Several special idents have also been used for 'The Hotel Inspector', 'The Walking Dead', 'Impossible?', 'Big Brother UK', 'The Bachelor', 'Europa League', and 'Nokia Lumia' also based around the same theme of the studio and screen. Programme preview cards feature a the font "Gotham" in upper case. Break bumpers feature the "Five" logo in the left-hand corner of the screen with a pattern of circles radiating out from the logo in an alternating red and black colour scheme. The latter continue to feature before and after each commercial.
Audience share
Audience share rose consistently for the first seven years of broadcast, reaching a peak of 6.6% in 2004. Two years later, however, the audience share had dropped to under 5%.
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Programming
Channel 5, like all of the public service broadcasters, broadcast a wide variety of programming, The channel mainly broadcasts entertainment programming, such as reality television, game shows and imported american drama. The channel broadcasts sports events not covered by other broadcasters and also broadcasts its own news service, 5 News, which is at present contracted out to Sky NewsSky News
Sky News is a 24-hour British and international satellite television news broadcaster with an emphasis on UK and international news stories.The service places emphasis on rolling news, including the latest breaking news. Sky News also hosts localised versions of the channel in Australia and in New...
but due to return to ITN in 2012. The channel airs documentaries and lifestyle programmes following the lives of so called '8 O'Clock Heroes'. The channel frequently sticks to a regular schedule, which includes the programme Home and Away
Home and Away
Home and Away is an Australian soap opera that has been produced in Sydney since July 1987 and is airing on the Seven Network since 17 January 1988. It is the second-longest-running drama and most popular soap opera on Australian television...
at 18:00 followed by OK! TV
OK! TV
OK! TV is an early evening magazine programme, broadcast on Channel 5 as a brand extension of celebrity title OK! Magazine. It replaced Live from Studio Five on 14 February 2011, and was presented by Kate Walsh and Matt Johnson, both of which have since left the programme. Jeff Brazier and Jenny...
at 18.25, 5 News at 19:00 and Big Brother (UK)
Big Brother (UK)
Big Brother UK is the British version of the Dutch Big Brother television format, which takes its name from the character in George Orwell's 1948 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four...
later in the evening.
Flagship programmes for the channel include the early morning chat programme The Wright Stuff
The Wright Stuff
The Wright Stuff is a British television chat show, hosted by Matthew Wright, and currently airing on Channel 5 each weekday morning from 9:15 to 11:10am....
at 9:15am and afternoon Australian soap's Neighbours
Neighbours
Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems...
(at 13:45) and Home and Away
Home and Away
Home and Away is an Australian soap opera that has been produced in Sydney since July 1987 and is airing on the Seven Network since 17 January 1988. It is the second-longest-running drama and most popular soap opera on Australian television...
(at 13:15) each weekday.
5 Text
From 1997-2011 Channel 5 provided it own analogue teletextTeletext
Teletext is a television information retrieval service developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s. It offers a range of text-based information, typically including national, international and sporting news, weather and TV schedules...
service providing a basic range of programme listings, film summaries and programme previews of Channel 5 content. The service was provided by Sky Text
Sky Text
Sky Text is the Digital Teletext Service operated by British Sky Broadcasting in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. It is available on Digital Satellite, Freeview Channel 108.-Features:*News Page 102*Finance*Sport Page 200...
for several years and later provided by BigStream Interactive in Surrey, UK. The service was withdrawn due to the digital switchover and shift to internet and social media.