Channel 5is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel launched in 1997. It is the fifth national terrestrial channel in the United Kingdom and is owned by Channel Five Broadcasting Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of American media conglomerate Paramount Global, which is grouped under the Paramount Networks UK & Australia division.
During ownership by the RTL Group, it was branded as Five between 16 September 2002 and 13 February 2011. Richard Desmond purchased the channel from RTL on 23 July 2010, announcing plans to invest more money in programming and return to the name Channel 5 with immediate effect, and it was relaunched on 14 February 2011. On 1 May 2014, the channel was acquired by Viacom (now Paramount Global) for £450 million (US$759 million).
Channel 5 is a general entertainment channel that shows both internally commissioned programmes such as Our Yorkshire Farm, The Gadget Show, The Hotel Inspector, and Can't Pay? We'll Take It Away! and foreign programmes. The channel has been very successful with imports from the United States in particular, including the CSI franchise, the NCIS franchise, the first three series in the Law & Order franchise, Power Rangers, The Mentalist, Body of Proof, Once Upon a Time, Dallas, Under the Dome, and sitcom Friends (also on Comedy Central UK).
