[zakman440]

If you're interested - this was in the most recent edition of Broadcast:

Channel 5 will begin prioritising original content for its revamped video-on-demand (VoD) service as part of plans to grow its base of young and registered users.


The Viacom-owned broadcaster underwent a major brand overhaul last week, which included a namechange for its VoD service from Demand Five to My5. The digital rebrand, which has taken six months to complete, aims to position the cross-platform VoD service as a fifth channel, alongside C5, 5Star, 5USA and Spike.


C5 director of digital media and commercial development James Tatam said he wanted to dial up My5’s TV-like qualities, bolstered by high-quality programming imagery.

“The aim is shift it away from its focus on catch-up content to a service you might access regardless of whether a show had previously been on air,” he said.

“For younger audiences, going to an on-demand channel is becoming second nature. We want to transform My5 from a player into a destination.”


A key plank of the strategy is to feature exclusive content to draw in users. The initiative began with Heroes Reborn: Dark Matters, a six part short-form web prequel to 5Star’s US sci-fi drama. “Having programming that we can promote as exclusive is vital because original content piques consumers’ interest,” said Tatam.

“If we want to build relationships with our visitors, then we need to offer something that they won’t find as part of the linear schedule.”


Tatam plans to acquire around one exclusive series each month and is also eyeing the opportunity to commission My5-specific content.

“There is at least one conversation around our first VoD commission that could then air on the main channel,” he said.


C5 is bolstering original content on My5 with series box-sets, and users are now required to register to view any programming that has not aired on linear TV over the past seven days.

“We want to build a better VoD experience and help inform how the product evolves,” said Tatam.


Registered users are able to add shows to a list of favourites. The service will also keep track of what programmes have been watched to enable users to pause and play across different devices. Tatam said that while My5 continued to achieve double-digit year-on-year growth, PC, mobile and tablet-based viewing is slowing. The most significant gains have come from set-top-box viewing and streaming services such as Now TV, Amazon Fire and Roku.

It sounds quite interesting - I'm hoping that it'll lead to them acquiring either Big Brother Canada or Big Brother USA (or Australia if it comes back) for it as that could easily be put on My5 first and then be played out on Channel 5!

[Jarrod]

I think the idea of broadcasting international editions of Big Brother is dead, unfortunately. It wouldn't get enough of a viewership to be a good investment. Remember that while Big Brother here doesn't get the greatest figures, their advertising, voting, product placement etc revenue makes up for that. They wouldn't have that with an international edition of Big Brother.