Channel 5

Channel 5 is a British free-to-air television network launched in 1997. It is the fifth national terrestrial channel in the United Kingdom and is owned by Channel 5 Broadcasting Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of American media conglomerate ViacomCBS, which is grouped under ViacomCBS Networks UK & Australia division.

The station was branded as Five between 16 September 2002 and 13 February 2011, when it was owned by the RTL Group. Richard Desmond purchased the station 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 ViacomCBS) for £450 million (US$759 million).