Britain’s broadcaster 5 will open a dedicated drama channel on Oct. 21, betting on linear television at a time when rivals are cutting channels.
5Drama replaces the 5Select channel and puts the network’s homegrown series next to American and Australian imports. Peak-time evenings go to British drama, led by the hit “All Creatures Great and Small” reboot, alongside “The Madame Blanc Mysteries,” “The Hardacres” and detective series “Ellis” and “Dalgliesh.” Saturdays will focus on crime, and Sundays on marathons of UK drama. Weekday afternoons belong to US programming, including “Gilmore Girls,” “Columbo” and “A Million Little Things,” with Australian drama filling the evenings.
The channel also secures the first 10 seasons of the BBC school drama “Waterloo Road,” which aired from 2006 to 2014. Soon after launch, it will start “Home and Away” from its first episode in 1988. 5 has aired the soap since 2001, when it moved from ITV.
5 president Reemah Sakaan said the moment was “the right time to give it a dedicated home.” She described the move as part of an effort to sharpen the network’s channels and give viewers a clear offer on linear television, 5Streaming, Freely and YouTube. On Freeview, 5Drama takes channel 33 by swapping places with sister channel 5Action. It will also appear on Freesat 132, Freely 26 and Sky 150. Alongside the launch, 5 is opening a YouTube channel for documentaries, joining its sports, news and kids channels on the platform.
A new linear channel looks like a contrarian bet. The BBC is expected to close at least one of its channels, while 5 under content chief Ben Frow has leaned into traditional broadcasting. Deadline reports it is the only network to have grown its linear share in recent years, and it regularly beats Channel 4 and BBC Two in overnight ratings.
The timing carries a wrinkle for the network’s owner. Terms of Paramount’s $110 billion deal for Warner Bros. Discovery this week include divestiture targets for American linear networks such as BET, VH1 and Comedy Central. 5 appears shielded for now, though how the merger reshapes Paramount’s international operations remains unclear.
