C5 strikes HOT deal for Hebrew dramas

Viacom-owned UK terrestrial Channel 5 is venturing into streamed foreign-language drama with a deal for four Hebrew series from Israeli broadcaster HOT.

The four original drama series will premiere on C5’s streaming service My5 this year, marking the first foreign-language content deal for the platform.

Fact-based drama Miguel (6×60’), comedy drama Juda (8×60’), family show Mekimi (5×60’) and two seasons of crime drama Sirens, each 10×60’, will all air in their original form with English subtitles.

Viacom said the latest deal supports My5’s move to offer a wide range of third-party content alongside programming from across the C5 portfolio.

In 2018, C5 announced it had signed My5 content partnership deals with PBS America, A+E Networks UK for its free-to-air entertainment channel Blaze, the Together channel, Little Dot Studios and BET.

The UK has been at the forefront of the foreign-language drama boom in recent years, with C5 rival Channel 4 partnering on the launch of streaming platform Walter Presents for drama from across the world.