5Select

About 5Select

5Select was a British free-to-air television channel owned by Channel 5 Broadcasting Limited, part of the Paramount Skydance group. Launched in February 2018, it served as Channel 5's "best of" channel, showcasing documentaries, arts, dramas, comedies and original content from across the Channel 5 network. After eight years on air, the channel closed in October 2026 to make way for 5Drama, a new free-to-air channel dedicated to drama programming.

During its lifetime, 5Select featured viewer favourites such as Ben Fogle: New Lives in the Wild, GPs: Behind Closed Doors and The Yorkshire Vet Casebook, alongside arts and factual programming that gave the Channel 5 portfolio a more upmarket edge. Its history was one of constant reinvention: it began life as a timeshift service, became the My5 showcase channel, and was reborn as 5Select before its eventual closure.

History and Launch

5Select's origins date to 4 February 2014, when Channel 5 launched Channel 5 +24, a one-day timeshift of the main Channel 5 service. On 10 August 2016, the timeshift was replaced by My5, a channel featuring a selection of shows from across the network, named after Channel 5's on-demand service. Then, on 13 February 2018, My5 was replaced by 5Select. The new channel had originally been expected to launch under the name 5Prime, but it arrived as 5Select instead.

The launch of 5Select came during a period of expansion for Channel 5 under Viacom's ownership. The channel was positioned as a home for documentaries, arts, dramas, comedies and Channel 5 original content, distinguishing it from its siblings: 5Star, aimed at younger viewers; 5USA, focused on American imports; and 5Spike (later 5Action), the male-skewing action channel. On Freeview, 5Select was available only on HD-capable devices from 2021, broadcasting on channel 46.

Sports rights also featured in the channel's later years. When ITV lost its NFL coverage, the rights moved to Channel 5, with games shown on 5 and 5Select under the NFL on CBS banner, giving the channel a new audience of American football fans.

Ownership

5Select was owned and operated by Channel 5 Broadcasting Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Paramount Skydance's UK and Australia division. Channel 5 itself was launched on 30 March 1997 as the UK's fifth national terrestrial channel. It was acquired by Viacom from Northern & Shell for £450 million on 1 May 2014, becoming part of what was later Paramount Global and is now Paramount Skydance Corporation. In March 2025, Channel 5 rebranded its main channel and streaming service under the shortened "5" brand.

Like the rest of the Channel 5 portfolio, 5Select was funded by advertising. Its sister channels during its lifetime included 5, 5Action, 5Star and 5USA, together forming one of the UK's largest commercial channel families. The channels shared programming, talent and sports rights, with 5Select acting as a showcase for the best factual and arts output from across the group.

Programming and Flagship Shows

5Select's programming focused on documentaries, arts, dramas, comedies and Channel 5 original content. It was conceived as the network's quality showcase, airing the best factual programming from the Channel 5 stable alongside arts documentaries and drama series. Regular fixtures included Ben Fogle: New Lives in the Wild, the long-running series following people who have left conventional life behind; GPs: Behind Closed Doors, the observational documentary set in a busy medical practice; and The Yorkshire Vet Casebook, following the vets of a Yorkshire practice.

The channel also carried arts programming, drama series and comedies drawn from the Channel 5 archive and from acquisitions. Its remit gave it a broader, more eclectic schedule than its siblings, mixing popular factual entertainment with more culturally ambitious documentaries. In its final years, the addition of NFL coverage brought live American football to the channel, with games from the NFL on CBS package airing on 5Select alongside the main 5 channel.

News and Current Affairs

5Select did not broadcast dedicated news bulletins. Its schedule was built around documentaries, arts, drama and entertainment rather than journalism. News for Channel 5 viewers was provided by 5 News on the main channel, while 5Select's factual output occasionally touched on topical subjects through its documentary programming, particularly in the arts and social-observation genres that formed part of its remit.

Audience and Ratings

As a digital spin-off channel, 5Select attracted a modest but loyal audience, typical of multichannel factual services. Its availability only on HD-capable Freeview devices from 2021 limited its terrestrial reach compared with its siblings, though it was more widely available on satellite, cable and streaming platforms. The channel's ratings peaked around popular factual series and, in its later years, live NFL games, which brought a new demographic of sports fans to the service.

Channel 5's overall network of channels grew its share of UK television viewing under Viacom and Paramount ownership, with the group reporting consecutive double-digit annual increases in content spend and growing appeal among younger and upmarket audiences in the mid-2010s. 5Select contributed to that portfolio as its factual and arts showcase.

Broadcast and Streaming Availability

During its eight years on air, 5Select was available across the UK's major television platforms. On Freeview it broadcast in high definition on channel 46, available only to viewers with HD-capable equipment from 2021. It was also carried on Freesat, Sky, Virgin Media and through Channel 5's streaming platforms, where its programmes were available on demand alongside the rest of the network's output.

Following the channel's closure in October 2026, its Freeview slot was reassigned: 5Action moved into 5Select's old position on channel 46, while the new 5Drama channel took over 5Action's former slot on Freeview channel 33. 5Select's factual programming continues to air on the main 5 channel and through Channel 5's streaming and YouTube services.

Cultural Impact

Though it never achieved the profile of its larger siblings, 5Select carved out a useful role in the Channel 5 portfolio as the home for the network's more ambitious factual and arts programming. At a time when multichannel factual output was increasingly dominated by reality formats, 5Select's arts documentaries and quality factual series offered an alternative, giving Channel 5's original commissions a second window and a dedicated showcase.

The channel's embrace of NFL coverage in its final years illustrated how digital spin-off channels could find new audiences through sports rights, bringing American football to free-to-air viewers who might never otherwise have encountered the channel. Its eight-year run reflected the broader story of Channel 5's growth under Viacom and Paramount ownership, from a single terrestrial channel to a multi-channel network with distinct brands for drama, action, youth and factual audiences.

Sister Channels

5Select was part of the Channel 5 family operated by Channel 5 Broadcasting Limited. Its siblings included the flagship channel 5, the action and crime channel 5Action (originally launched as Paramount Network in July 2018 and rebranded in January 2022), the youth-skewing 5Star, and 5USA, the home of American imports. Following 5Select's closure, the family welcomed 5Drama, the new drama-focused channel that replaced it, joining 5, 5Action, 5Star and 5USA in Channel 5's lineup of traditional television channels.

Recent Developments

In October 2026, Channel 5 announced that 5Select would close after eight years on air to make way for 5Drama, a brand-new free-to-air channel dedicated to drama programming. The new channel launched on 21 October 2026, focusing on drama from the Channel 5 archive, including All Creatures Great and Small and The Madame Blanc Mysteries, alongside international titles such as Gilmore Girls and nightly Australian series. Soon after launch, 5Drama began airing Home and Away from its very first episode in 1988.

5Drama took the place of 5Action on the TV guide, broadcasting on Freeview channel 33, Freesat channel 132, Freely channel 26, Sky channel 150, and on Sky Stream and Sky Glass on channel 165 in high definition. 5Action moved to 5Select's former slot on Freeview channel 46. Channel 5 said that factual programmes would not disappear entirely, with the genre continuing on the main channel and through dedicated streaming and YouTube channels. The closure of 5Select marked the end of an eight-year experiment in factual and arts showcase television, as Channel 5 rebalanced its portfolio towards drama.