Maria Kyriacou
Paramount will combine Channel 5's broadcast video-on-demand (BVOD) service, My5, with its leading FAST service, Pluto TV in 2024. The advertising-supported free streaming destination will give viewers in the UK access to an extensive range of new, exclusive, and archived content from Channel 5, an extensive on-demand section, and a collection of curated FAST channels from Pluto TV. The product, which will leverage Pluto TV's best-in-class technology platform, will combine BVOD, FAST, AVOD, and Live TV all at once, allowing audiences to lean back, lean forward, catch up, and watch their favorite shows live.
Work on the new product is underway, with a launch planned for the second half of 2024. Further details on the brand and product will be announced in early 2024. "We're proud of the huge success and growth in viewing that we have seen on our BVOD service, My5. As we look ahead to an IP-delivered future, this is the right time for us to fully leverage the Paramount ecosystem and combine the reach and scale of our free-to-air network in the UK with the global success of our FAST service, Pluto TV," said Maria Kyriacou, President, Broadcast & Studios, Paramount International Markets. " We're well underway with work on this product, and I'm incredibly excited about the content and user experience we'll be able to offer our audiences and advertising partners when we launch next year."
"As an early pioneer of FAST globally, we've seen incredible growth and excitement for Pluto TV in markets worldwide. By joining forces with our leading BVOD platform in the UK, we are offering audiences, partners, and clients a supersized free streaming destination that we know they'll love," said Olivier Jollet, EVP and General Manager Pluto TV, Paramount International Markets. "This is a significant evolution for our free streaming business in this important market and a testament to how we strategically approach our platforms and the future of streaming."
The newly combined streaming service will enable Channel 5 to extend its provision of high-quality public service content in a digitally delivered future and build on the network's recent success. Channel 5 has grown its share of the UK television audience over the last four years consecutively. Its BVOD service My5 has grown its viewing in the previous three years consecutively, thanks to hit shows like Dalgleish, All Creatures Great And Small, Ben Fogle: New Lives In The Wild, The Yorkshire Vet, and Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly.
Pluto TV is the pioneer of the FAST industry and the most widely distributed FAST service worldwide. With more than 2000 channels globally from over 425 content partners, Pluto TV is the first destination for FAST lovers, including clients and partners who want to reach an extensive audience. Pluto TV has grown exponentially during the past several years, reaching annual revenue of over $1BN and expanding its footprint across four continents and over 35 markets. Pluto TV's content offering spans multiple genres via curated channels and on-demand, including global and local film and series selections, Kids & Family content, stand-up comedy, sports, and much more. The service in the UK has over 20,000 hours of free content and more than 150 channels programmed with content from Paramount and other content partners, including iconic characters "Judge Judy Sheindlin" and "Dog The Bounty Hunter," the three classic series in the "CSI Universe," MTV hits like "Catfish" and "Teen Mum," 10 curated movie channels as well as numerous factual hits like Channel 5's Police Interceptors, Come Dine With Me, true crime classic Homicide Hunter and fan favorite Most Haunted.