Channel 5 rebrands as 5: Viewers react to channel's latest branding overhaul as broadcaster announces new name

In a move to marry the linear Channel 5 and online My5 services, broadcaster owner Paramount have decided to relaunch the entire brand under the same name - ‘5’. The television station Channel 5 has been on air since March 1997 and has undergone various name changes throughout the years.

The first name change came in 2002, when ‘Channel 5’ simply became ‘Five’. Following the channel’s sale to Richard Desmond, the name reverted to ‘Channel 5’ in 2011.

My5 was introduced to viewers in 2008 as a free online catch-up service and had previously been known as Five Download and Demand 5.

Under the new rebrand, all of 5’s original dramas and factual content will appear on the same platform, alongside the children’s content made under the Milkshake! brand. The programme catalogue will also pull from Paramount’s US brands such as Comedy Central, MTV, BET, and CBS, as well as the Paramount+ streaming service.

Fans have reacted to the rebrand, with one viewer taking to X (formerly Twitter) to say: “This is the third rebrand. From Channel 5 to Five to Channel 5 again and now to 5.”

One person added: “The joke of the rebrand when everyone just says Channel 5,” while another joked: “They haven't tried just 'Channel' yet, that could work.”

Similar rebrands have happened at competitors including Channel 4 - which changed the name of its online video-on-demand service then known as All4 to match its ‘Channel 4’ brand in 2023. Channel 4 bosses said at the time that it became the "first UK broadcaster to adopt one brand identity across its digital and linear channels"