Paramount combining My5 and PlutoTV
November 1, 2023
Paramount has announced it will combine Channel 5’s BVoD, My5, with its FAST service Pluto TV, to bring audiences in the UK a supersized, free streaming service in 2024.
The streaming destination will give access to an extensive range of new, exclusive and archived content from Channel 5, as well as an on-demand section and collection of curated FAST channels from Pluto TV. The product, which will leverage Pluto TV’s technology platform, will combine BVoD, FAST, AVoD and Live TV all at once.
“We’re proud of the huge success and growth in viewing that we have seen on our BVoD service, My5. As we look ahead to an IP-delivered future, this is the right time for us to fully leverage the Paramount ecosystem and combine the reach and scale of our free-to-air network in the UK with the global success of our FAST service, Pluto TV. We’re well underway with work on this product, and I’m incredibly excited about the content and user experience we’ll be able to offer our audiences and our advertising partners when we launch next year,” said Maria Kyriacou, President, Broadcast & Studios, Paramount International Markets.
“As an early pioneer of FAST globally, we’ve seen incredible growth and excitement for Pluto TV in markets around the world. By joining forces with our leading BVoD platform in the UK, we are offering audiences, partners, and clients a supersized free streaming destination that we know they’ll love,” added Olivier Jollet, EVP and General Manager Pluto TV, Paramount International Markets. “This is a significant evolution for our free streaming business in this important market and a testament to how we strategically approach our platforms and the future of streaming.”
Paramount says the newly combined streaming service will enable Channel 5 to extend its provision of public service content in a digitally delivered future – and build on the network’s recent success. Channel 5 has grown its share of the UK television audience over the last four years consecutively, and its BVoD service My5 has grown its viewing over the last three years consecutively – thanks to popular shows such as Dalgleish, All Creatures Great And Small, Ben Fogle: New Lives In The Wild, The Yorkshire Vet and Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly.
Pluto TV has grown exponentially during the past several years, reaching annual revenue in excess of $1 billion and expanding its footprint across four continents and over 35 markets.
Work on the new product is underway, with a launch planned for the second half of 2024. Further details on the brand and product will be announced in early 2024.