Five launches TV catch-up service
Friday, July 18th, 2008Get your Five a Day with Five
Kicking off with an advert about “TV indulgence” terrestrial TV’s fifth channel launched a promotional campaign for its TV catch-up service yesterday. Called Demand Five, the service is sponsored by Dell. In last night’s advert, three people are portrayed barely being able to keep their eyes open at work after an indulgent night spent watching shows available on Demand Five. Two versions of the advert, lasting 20 and 40 seconds, will be aired during a three-week promotional campaign.
Australian soaps Neighbours and Home and Away, entertainment programmes such as The Gadget Show and Superstars, as well as reality shows Banged Up and The Gadget Show are all free to download on Demand Five. US imports such as CSI: New York and Grey’s Anatomy will cost 99p an episode, and will be available for 48 hours after download, while HD programmes carry a price-tag of £1.99.
“Five is the last of the UK’s major terrestrial broadcasters to offer an online catch-up service and in some respects it is the most advanced service available,” says Arash Amel, head of broadband media at media analyst firm Screen Digest. “Video is higher quality than many comparable offers [and] it provides a good range of key US shows, and the integration of rating and reviewing provides a level of interaction that other services lack.”
Nonetheless, Demand Five is unlikely to attract the high ratings enjoyed by the BBC iPlayer. Whereas all iPlayer programmes can be downloaded free of charge, some of the content on Demand Five carries a charge, and customers have to go through a registration process each time they download a show. Five is the last of the UK’s main terrestrial channels to offer a full TV catch-up service.
