Viacom has today become the first US company to control a British public service broadcaster after closing a £450 million deal to buy Channel 5.
The deal, which was cleared on Wednesday morning by the European Commission, will see Richard Desmond, who bought the UK television channel in 2010 for £103.5 million, receive more than four times his initial investment; however, Desmond reportedly wanted £700 million for the channel.
Viacom, which owns channels including MTV, Nickelodeon and VH1, is the fourth-largest media conglomerate behind The Walt Disney Company, Time Warner and 21st Century Fox, and last financial year made pre-tax profits of $2.4 billion.
To coincide with taking ownership of the UK broadcaster, Viacom announced the first joint commissions between Channel 5 and its UK pay TV channels.
Viacom’s Nickelodeon is joining forces with Channel 5’s pre-school strand, Milkshake, to develop a new animated series, Nella the Knight, intended to be their first co-production under Viacom ownership.
The series will be produced in the UK and co-funded by the two broadcasters, who will share broadcast rights, as they already do with a variety of other popular pre-school programmes including Peppa Pig, Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom and Bubble Guppies. Episodes of SpongeBob SquarePants and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will also begin airing on Channel 5.
“Our ownership of Channel 5 will significantly increase Viacom’s investment in British creativity and content,” said Viacom’s CEO, Philippe Dauman.
“We are committed to strengthening Channel 5’s status as one of UK broadcasting’s premier brands, and we will continue to grow the network’s pipeline of original programming with more quality commissions, as well as acquisitions.
“The addition of Channel 5 will also benefit our existing UK pay television channel portfolio, as demonstrated by the announcement of our first two original programming commissions.
“We are excited about our stewardship of Channel 5 and we look forward to delivering added value for our shareholders, partners and, above all, our audiences.”
Viacom has also confirmed that Channel 5’s advertising sales team will be retained following the closure of the deal and will continue to sell the network’s airtime.
Channel 5’s commercial director of sales, Nick Bampton, and its chief operating officer, Paul Dunthorne, will report separately to David Lynn, EVP, managing director of VIMN UK, and join his UK senior management team, along with Channel 5’s programme director, Ben Frow.
