C5 swaps catch-up for linear net

Shows such as The Shannara Chronicles will air on My5

Viacom-owned Channel 5 (C5) in the UK is ditching its catch-up channel and launching a free-to-air network in its place that will air shows from sister stations including the UK version of Spike.

My5, which will start broadcasting early next month, will replace the time-shifted Channel5 +24 and will offer content from the broadcaster’s VoD service of the same name, which was rebranded from Demand 5 earlier this year.

C5 says the new network will be “fast reacting” to ensure topical content is aired, with programming from C5, 5STAR and 5USA available along with content from Spike, which airs shows including The Shannara Chronicles, Zoltan the Wolfman and The X-Files.

My5’s linear schedule will also offer box sets and other programming that ties into show launches or events, curated around various themes and talent.

James Tatam, director of digital media and commercial development at Channel 5, said: “Taking My5 into the linear space is an exciting development following the success of our video-on-demand service, which has enjoyed rapid growth since rebranding in February.

“Through a mix of sharp and responsive scheduling, curated and thematic content, and data from our TV channels, on-demand platform and social media, viewers can now discover the most popular content on My5 via both TV and on-demand and choose how they want to watch.”

The My5 channel will be available via services including Freeview, Freesat, Sky TV, Virgin Media, YouView, BT and TalkTalk, with further platforms to be confirmed.