{"id":27436,"date":"2025-07-27T08:26:13","date_gmt":"2025-07-27T08:26:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/27436\/"},"modified":"2025-07-27T08:26:13","modified_gmt":"2025-07-27T08:26:13","slug":"what-does-paramounts-takeover-mean-for-the-future-of-channel-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/27436\/","title":{"rendered":"What does Paramount\u2019s takeover mean for the future of Channel 5?"},"content":{"rendered":"

A couple of months after she was named president of Channel 5, Sarah Rose flew to New York for a two-hour meeting inside the Manhattan skyscraper of Paramount, the broadcaster\u2019s parent company, best-known for making films including the Mission: Impossible series.<\/p>\n

Rose\u2019s mission that day was to persuade Paramount\u2019s chief executive, the US media veteran Bob Bakish, to commit new funding to supporting her planned revamp and rebrand for Channel 5 \u2014 the fourth in its 28-year history \u2014 which would be known as 5.<\/p>\n

On the very same day, Bakish, a longstanding supporter of 5 who was part of the team that had bought it back in 2014, abruptly resigned amid speculation of a fallout with Paramount\u2019s majority owner, the media heir Shari Redstone. <\/p>\n

Rose was left to make her boardroom pitch to the three company insiders promoted to replace Bakish: co-chief executives George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy and Brian Robbins. <\/p>\n

\"Tom<\/p>\n

Brian Robbins, Bob Bakish, Tom Cruise and Shari Redstone at the premiere of Paramount\u2019s Top Gun: Maverick in 2022<\/p>\n

LEON BENNETT\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n

In the event, Rose, a former Channel 4 executive who first joined Paramount as its UK chief operating officer in 2020 before becoming president of 5 in February 2024, won the support she needed; she was able to invest in a sizeable marketing campaign and rebrand for her TV channel and streaming service.<\/p>\n

The sudden departure of Bakish turned out to be one of several instalments of corporate chaos that have ensued around Paramount over the past year and a half. Rose and her staff at 5 have been forced to watch on amid growing speculation that their company, a small cog in a media machine that also includes MTV, CBS and Nickelodeon, could soon be sold off.<\/p>\n

Last July, a couple of months after Rose\u2019s visit to New York, Redstone agreed to sell her stake in Paramount as part of an $8 billion deal with Skydance, a rival movie-maker led by the producer David Ellison. The financial muscle for the deal comes from Ellison\u2019s father, the tech billionaire Larry, and the private equity firm RedBird, which is also nearing a deal to buy the UK\u2019s Telegraph newspaper<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Larry<\/p>\n

Larry Ellison has provided the financial muscle for the Skydance deal<\/p>\n

JUSTIN SULLIVAN\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n

After 12 months of tumult, during which Paramount has settled a CBS-related lawsuit<\/a> from President Trump, Ellison\u2019s deal finally looks poised to complete following approval by the Federal Communications Commission. For employees of 5, this brings uncertainty. \u201cI don\u2019t think, truthfully, anyone knows what\u2019s going to happen,\u201d said one insider. Another shrugged and said they were keeping their head down.<\/p>\n

Many in the media sector expect Paramount, under its new ownership, to shed some assets and focus on film-making and streaming, including through the Paramount+ service. The result is that 5, even with a fast-growing, free streaming service, looks vulnerable. <\/p>\n

One industry veteran questioned whether the new owners would be \u201cat all interested in a little UK channel with an elderly audience\u201d. That is, they added, unless the Ellisons come to see 5 as a vehicle to buy up other British broadcasters, as many expect consolidation within the sector. <\/p>\n

Claire Enders, the boss of media research firm Enders Analysis, thinks 5 staff have nothing to fear. \u201cThey\u2019re not going to sell Channel 5,\u201d she said, pointing to the broadcaster\u2019s profits and the leadership of Rose, a \u201cgreat diplomat\u201d whom she predicts will win the affections of Paramount\u2019s next owners. <\/p>\n

\"Sarah<\/p>\n

Since becoming president of 5 in February 2024, Sarah Rose has been plunged into corporate chaos<\/p>\n

DARREN GERRISH\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n

The other considerable uncertainty facing 5 concerns Rose herself. A former longstanding executive of Channel 4, many in the sector identify her as a star candidate to return as the company\u2019s next chief executive. Some even think she could replace Tim Davie as director-general of the BBC. Enders thinks Rose will stay put.<\/p>\n

Despite a glitzy 1997 launch, and an early mantra of providing viewers with the \u201cthree Fs\u201d (\u201cfootball, films and f***ing\u201d), 5 has long fought and failed to shed its image as the least trendy of Britain\u2019s main terrestrial broadcasters, behind the BBC, Channel 4 and ITV. Today, it retains a reputation for attracting an older audience, and last year, before its streaming rebrand and marketing push, Ofcom found that 95 per cent of its viewing occurred on linear TV, versus 82 per cent at the BBC and 84 per cent at Channel 4.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Spice Girls fronted the new channel\u2019s launch show in 1997<\/p>\n

CHANNEL 5<\/p>\n

The broadcaster also struggled financially in its early years. It was losing tens of millions of pounds a year before the media mogul Richard Desmond bought it in 2010 for \u00a3100 million. By cutting costs and rejuvenating 5\u2019s advertising teams, he made it profitable and sold it on to America\u2019s Viacom, which became part of Paramount, for about \u00a3450 million in 2014.<\/p>\n

Desmond retains a soft spot for 5. It has a \u201cgreat future\u201d, he said, and can continue to make \u201cgood profits\u201d. If it is sold, he reckons interested buyers could include DAZN, the sports broadcaster of billionaire Len Blavatnik, the broadcast giant Sky, or even Apple. But, he added, if the \u201cEllison deal goes through, there\u2019s no reason why 5 could not be bigger than ITV, so [I] would doubt a sale\u201d.<\/p>\n

Since 2015, 5\u2019s revenues have grown from \u00a3322 million to \u00a3398 million in 2023, when it had an operating profit of more than \u00a3100 million. The performance looks solid in a period when many broadcasters have been struggling. <\/p>\n

\u2022 It\u2019s a numbers game as Channel 5 vows to overtake 4<\/a><\/p>\n

This is down not just to Rose, but to Ben Frow, 5\u2019s longstanding director of programming. With an annual commissioning budget of about \u00a3200 million, versus about \u00a3650 million at Channel 4, Frow is known in the industry for having achieved \u201ca lot with a little\u201d. <\/p>\n

Under American ownership, the broadcaster has sought to become more British with its shows, which include All Creatures Great and Small and Ellis. It has also secured lower-cost sports rights, including several matches from football\u2019s recent Club World Cup, won by Chelsea FC<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Promotional<\/p>\n

A revamp of All Creatures Great and Small has been a hit for 5<\/p>\n

PA<\/p>\n

In addition to Sky, both ITV and state-owned Channel 4 are mooted as potential suitors for 5. Traditionally, such deals would have been a regulatory no-no. But, at a time when broadcasters are struggling to compete with YouTube and streamers, many expect consolidation to be allowed. <\/p>\n

Sir Peter Bazalgette, the former chairman of ITV, predicts that within ten years, the UK will \u201cnot have more than two public service broadcasters \u2014 possibly only one, but not more than two\u201d. Appearing before the Commons culture, media and sport select committee this month, he suggested that consolidation was needed for the \u201chealth of public service broadcasting\u201d.<\/p>\n

For now, staff at 5 are left to wonder where their company might fit in to this predicted consolidation. Will it, as many expect, be sold? Or will it shock the broadcasting establishment by using the Ellisons\u2019 billions to buy up bigger rivals? Their chief executive might find out on her next trip to New York.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A couple of months after she was named president of Channel 5, Sarah Rose flew to New York…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27437,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[49,48,75,348],"class_list":["post-27436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-entertainment","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27436"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27436\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27437"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}