Paramount Global has abandoned plans to merge its British television network Channel 5 with the brand identity of free streaming platform Pluto TV, and will opt instead for a refresh of Channel 5’s image.
As part of the refresh, Paramount is set to rebrand Channel 5 as simply “5” (Five), which will also be the name used for Channel 5’s streaming companion, My5.
The refresh will occur during the first portion of 2025, executives at Paramount said. When it does, Five will offer more content from its parent company’s intellectual property, including CBS, Showtime, Comedy Central and MTV, as well as broadcast versions of shows culled from streaming service Paramount Plus.
It will mark the sixth time that Five has rebranded since it launched in early 1997. The channel has alternated between the “Channel 5” and “Five” brand identities throughout its history. It last used the “Five” identity when Luxembourgh-based RTL Group owned the network; Viacom Corporation acquired Five in 2014 and restored its name to “Channel 5” a short time later. Viacom merged with CBS Corporation in 2019 to form present-day Paramount.
There has been mounting speculation in the media and entertainment industry that Paramount could shop Five around to another buyer as the company looks to pare down expenses associated with its global linear television businesses — the company is in the middle of laying off hundreds of employees associated with it broadcast and cable networks in the United States and abroad.
But the commitment to rebrand Channel 5 as Five, coupled with the affirmation that Five will get more Paramount TV series in the future, suggests the company may stick around with the fourth of Britain’s four public service broadcast outlets. (It competes with the BBC, ITV and Channel 4, and is the only network of the four to be owned by a foreign operator.)
