Channel 5 To Receive £6m Cash Boost From Owners

Channel 5 has been promised an additional £6m funding this year by its owners RTL and United Business Media (UBM). The sum will be added to the existing budget of £140m for the year. Chief executive Dawn Airey is expected to spend the extra funds on high profile, original programming which is designed to please both regulators and advertisers.

The cash investment has been requested by RTL, which owns a 65% stake in the channel, for some time, but the owner of the remaining 35%, UBM has been resisting a funding increase. This led to a court battle earlier this year from which RTL emerged the winner (see Sharewatch).

Channel 5 achieved its highest audience ever at the end of last month, when it screened an England football match against Albania, attracting 8m viewers (see Channel 5 Gets Highest Audience Ever). A more regular ratings winner for the channel continues to be its regular 9pm film output, highlighting the lack of a successful homegrown ratings winner in the mould of Millionaire, EastEnders or Big Brother. Future hopes are pinned on Australian soap Home & Away, that it poached from ITV and will begin screening later this year, although the ITC has refused permission for the early evening news bulletin to move to 5.30pm to create space for a 6pm broadcast slot (see Channel 5 News Move Refused By ITC).

Channel 5: 020 7550 5555 www.channel5.co.uk RTL Group: 020 7691 6000 www.rtlgroup.com United Business Media: 020 7921 5000 www.unitedbusinessmedia.co.uk

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