| 5* | |
|---|---|
| Launched | 15 October 2006 |
| Owned by | Northern & Shell (Richard Desmond) |
| Picture format | 576i (SDTV 16:9, 4:3) |
| Audience share | 0.4% 0.1% (+1) (August 2011, BARB) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Formerly called | Five.2 (working title)[1] Five Life (2006-2008) |
| Sister channel(s) | Channel 5 5USA |
| Timeshift service | 5* +1 |
| Website | Channel5.com/5star |
| Availability | |
| Terrestrial | |
| Freeview | Channel 30 |
| Satellite | |
| Freesat | Channel 131 Channel 132 (+1) |
| Sky | Channel 176 Channel 236 (+1) |
| Astra 1N | 10964H 22000 5/6 10964H 22000 5/6 (+1) |
| Cable | |
| Virgin Media | Channel 151 Channel 152 (+1) |
| Smallworld Cable | Channel 145 |
| IPTV | |
| TalkTalk TV | Channel 31 |
| Internet television | |
| TVCatchup | Watch live (UK only) Watch live (+1) (UK only) |
5* (pronounced "Five Star") is a television channel in the United Kingdom owned by Northern & Shell. The channel was launched as "Five Life" on 15 October 2006, and was rebranded as "Fiver" on 28 April 2008, and "5*" on 7 March 2011. The channel is available on digital television via Freesat, Freeview, Sky, TalkTalk TV and Virgin Media It was originally launched alongside 5USA by Channel 5, in order to create a multi-channel strategy, which all other analogue broadcasters had already achieved. 5* broadcasts between 1pm and 12am.[2][3]
5* is a sister channel of Channel 5 and 5USA.
Contents |
Five Life was originally intended to be a female-oriented channel with an emphasis on lifestyle programming. Channel 5 announced that programming on Five Life included The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Love My Way, Windfall and Angela's Eyes, as well as a weekday double-bill of the chat show The Trisha Goddard Show and new episodes and a weekly omnibus of Home and Away. Repeats of teenage drama Dawson's Creek started showing in December 2006.[4][5]
The first programme broadcast on Five Life was Inside the Priory, a documentary about The Priory clinic, at 8pm. The launch of Five Life marked the start of Five's digital multi-channel strategy designed to compete with similar strategies from its rivals Channel 4 and ITV plc.
On 11 January 2007, it was announced that Five Life had acquired the multi-channel rights to air popular axed ITV dramas, Bad Girls (Series 4-8) and Footballers' Wives from Spring 2007.
On 28 August 2007, Five Life launched a timeshift channel named Five Life +1.[6]
At 6am on 28 April 2008, Five Life relaunched as Fiver with a new on and off-air identity and a raft of new shows added to the schedule. These included Celebrity Rehab, Dirt and re-runs of Sex and the City.[7]
On 7 March 2011, the channel was rebranded as 5*, supported by a new logo and branding to underline the fun-loving image of the channel. On 11 April 2011, 5* reduced its broadcast hours to 1pm to 12am, replacing the lost hours with more teleshopping. Milkshake! programmes (for children aged 7 and under) are no longer broadcast on this channel because of this reduction, but Milkshake! continues to broadcast on Channel 5.[8]
The schedule for the primetime shows on the launch night of Five Life was as follows:
| Time | Programme name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 20:00 |
|
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| 21:00 |
|
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| 22:00 |
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(0.33% audience share) |
The launch of Five Life was at the time ranked as the worst received multichannel launch for a terrestrial broadcaster, only managing to achieve a primetime share of 0.21%.[9]
The schedule for the primetime shows on the launch night of Fiver were as follows:
| Time | Programme name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 17:30 |
|
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| 18:00 |
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This is the episode that was to air on Channel 5, the next day at 14:15. Episode number 4601. |
| 18:30 |
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This episode was repeated the next day in its ordinary 18:30 timeslot, and aired on Channel 5, two days after its initial airing. Episode number 4602. |
| 19:00 |
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