RTL, the owner of Five, was almost shamefully late in entering the multi-channel fray, launching digital channels Five US and Five Life nine years after setting up its terrestrial service.
Although it was hampered by its ownership structure, with RTL buying out United Business Media only in September 2005 to take full control, its delay in creating a family of channels meant that both ITV and the BBC had stolen a march on Five.
Last October, its two digital offerings finally went on air. Five Life is targeted at women, while Five US is aimed mainly at men, with a schedule built on US dramas, films and comedy.
In an attempt to make an impression on the already crowded multichannel market, Five promoted the launch of Five US with a deliberately provocative ad campaign using the strapline - 'Who says nothing good ever came out of America?'
It may have prompted 99 complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority, but the campaign failed to attract substantial numbers of viewers to the channel's launch. Five US managed just a 0.55% share on its first day of broadcasting.
Over the past year, things haven't improved much. Five US fails to rank in the top 10 channels, based on adult share of commercial impacts (SOCI), with a 0.9% share, according to Barb.
In its core market of 16- to 34-year-olds, the channel ranks a lowly 15th. Critics say that its schedule, much like that of its terrestrial sister, is heavily reliant on CSI. But the popularity of this programming franchise appears to be waning.
Last week, Jane Scott, Five's marketing director, who was instrumental in the launch of Five US, became the latest high-profile name to exit the broadcaster's revolving doors. The channel's controller, Nick Thorogood, departed just four months after its launch and was replaced by former managing editor of Sky One, Two and Three, Hannah Barnes.
So what does Five need to do next to grow its two fledgling digital channels? We asked James Jennings, joint managing director of media agency BJK&E, and David McEvoy, marketing director of JCDecaux, to give Five's chief executive Jane Lighting and Scott's as-yet unnamed replacement the benefit of their advice.
DIAGNOSIS 1 - JAMES JENNINGS JOINT MANAGING DIRECTOR, BJK&E
'People watch programmes, not channels,' is the received wisdom in agencies, nothwithstanding the elephant in the room that is the glacial change in shares of viewing by channel.
Is Five US's 0.9% share of commercial viewers a failure? Sky Sports 1 gets about 1.2%. A better comparison is More4, which has a 1.1% share delivering mostly 'classic' C4 fare. Ambitions to grow are commercially essential, but you have to give viewers something worth making the effort for. In the Radio Times, the other terrestrial channels' main digital offshoots are listed on the peak-time viewing page - only Five's are demoted to the digital listings bunfight. Like consumers, the listings need a reason to see the channel as mainstream.
CSI re-runs and so-so films hardly make Five US essential viewing. The channel isn't on the radar for the core audience.
A shift of emphasis is needed, particularly as the parent brand is hardly dominant. But it is either that or accept that the wisdom of the masses has spoken on the value of Five US's content.
REMEDY
- Put the first runs of CSI and House on Five US.
- Get Five US included on the peak-time pages of key listings.
- Get a more memorable or relevant channel number, such as 555, on the electronic programme guide.
- Create constant and heavy cross-promotion with the terrestrial channel.
- Invest in strong advertising support for the best film offerings.
DIAGNOSIS 2 - DAVID MCEVOY MARKETING DIRECTOR, JCDECAUX
Last night, I got home and a repair man had been round to fix the amplifier that we need to boost the signal to get Freeview. Apparently, there was water in one of the wires that caused a short.
I had to retune the TV after he left and, lo and behold, we had more digital channels, including Five US. A whole new world. A whole new US world.
My 20-something marketing team reeled off a host of shows on Five US that they like - from Dirt and Shark to House. They knew Californication was coming and recalled the channel's launch campaign: 'Who says nothing good ever came out of America?' But apart from Dirt, all the programmes had been shown first on Five.
So, the channel has some good programmes, although probably thinly spread and not absolutely associated with Five US.
The question for consumers is how important the channel is compared with the programmes. I make appointments to view programmes and Five is where they are shown first. I also have Sky+, so I don't need repeats and one-hour-plus channels.
REMEDY
- Create a buzz and appointment to view with lead shows such as Californication running first on Five US.
- Shoulder it with key programming - extend the experience.
- The website must be more American and explain the channel. When I looked, it had an Expedia banner showing the Eiffel Tower.
- Use outdoor to outreach. Five has a heritage of strong creative, which means it often out-shouts higher-spending competitors.