Watch Channel 5

Channel 5 was designed as a general entertainment channel with lots of original domestic content and imported cult shows, and at its widely-promoted launch, around 2.5 million viewers tuned in to watch it, beating the record set by Channel 4 several years ago.

As a witty pun, the first ad broadcasted on the channel was the promo of Chanel no.5 scent.

One of the most watched shows on Channel 5 was the first episode of the series All Creatures Great and Small on its premiere night of September 1, 2020, with two more episodes of the first season following in tow. The series is based on the globally loved books about animals written by a British veterinarian under the pen name James Herriot.

The ident and logo of the channel have always referenced the numeral 5 but in different forms. Channel 5 was rebranded into Five in 2002 but returned to its classic Channel 5 name in 2010, to the great approval of the audience.

Channel 5 hosts its own real-life festival,5 on the Farm, related to the flagship show Our Yorkshire Farm and its spin-offs. The festival was first held in August of 2021 in Cawthorne, South Yorkshire, and featured plenty of fun and learning activities for families as well as interaction with TV celebrities.

Channel 5 is notoriously known for confusing programming schedules and naming: it has a habit of giving the same programme several different names that makes tracking the show very hard, and it regularly shuffles the show timing or dumps a series or a show halfway from the schedule altogether. The channel’s Twitter account is hard evidence to this habit, with regular apologies to viewers and corrections to the schedule.

Channel 5 broadcasts a big segment of content dedicated to interactions with nature and animals, traditional farming, gardening, etc., thus promoting an ethical approach to pets, wildlife, and the natural environment.

For a few years, Channel 5 was the only terrestrial channel to broadcast cricket. It is also known for airing sport events not shown by other channels.

Channel 5 is known for its documentaries and shows about railway travels and trains in Britain and abroad.

Channel 5 was the first analogue TV channel in the UK to show digital on-screen graphic ident permanently as a marker and a branding tool.