Channel 5 is centralising its drama output into a single linear destination, moving British titles into evening primetime and allocating weekday afternoons to US imports and long-running soaps. The broadcaster will retire 5Select and launch 5Drama on October 21, a deliberate programming shift intended to knit together scheduled drama viewing across the day.
The new channel’s opening slate mixes five originals with acquired series and catalogue drama. Confirmed titles include All Creatures Great and Small, US hits Gilmore Girls and Columbo, ABC’s A Million Little Things, and the Australian soap Home and Away, which will be shown from episode one in the afternoons. 5Drama also holds rights to the first 10 seasons of BBC school drama Waterloo Road, covering the 2006-2014 run that preceded the show’s 2023 reboot.
Executives describe the move as an explicit bet on curated linear programming, under content chief Ben Frow’s direction. Channel 5 has been the only UK broadcaster recently to grow its linear share, and it regularly beats Channel 4 and BBC Two in overnight ratings, a performance the company is looking to lean on as it packages drama into distinct dayparts.
Reemah Sakaan, head of the network, framed the launch as part of a wider portfolio play. She said, “Award winning drama is increasingly at the heart of what 5 offers viewers, so it’s the right time to give it a dedicated home. This, and the expansion of our portfolio across multiple platforms, is about sharpening our channels and giving viewers a clear offer wherever they’re watching, on linear, 5Streaming, Freely or YouTube.” The broadcaster is already growing its digital footprint with a YouTube documentary channel and recently launched sports, news and kids channels on the platform.
The announcement arrives as larger industry rearrangements continue. Deal terms outlined in the Paramount-Warner $110B proposal listed divestiture targets among US linear networks including BET, VH1 and Comedy Central. So far 5 appears insulated, though how the broader international arrangements will settle remains unresolved.
5Drama will join Channel 5’s existing linear family, which includes 5, 5Action, 5Star and 5USA. The schedule and rights stack make clear the network is betting its audience growth on scheduled, curated drama rather than a retreat from linear television; next steps will be whether that concentrated approach sustains daytime and overnight audience gains over the coming ratings periods.
