Channel 4 to Sell Ads for 5 in First Joint Sales Deal
Channel 4 will sell the adverts on rival network 5. It is the first shared sales house between two UK public broadcasters.
Channel 4 and Paramount's UK network 5 have agreed an advertising sales partnership, Deadline reported on 15 September. Both Channel 4 and 5 are UK public service broadcasters, channels that hold public duties under UK rules while still carrying commercials. The Channel 4–5 deal is the first time two such broadcasters have joined together on advertising.
Under the agreement, Channel 4 Sales becomes the exclusive advertising sales partner for a broad portfolio of Paramount brands in the UK. Exclusive means sole. One team sells the space. Advertisers have one door to knock on.
That job is practical. A sales house talks to brands and media buyers. It prices thirty-second slots. It fills the breaks that sit inside and between programmes across the day and on streaming.
For 5, that means Channel 4 assumes airtime sales responsibility — the selling of commercial time — for its television and streaming portfolio. The named services in that portfolio are Milkshake!, 5USA, 5Star, 5Select and 5Action. The network 5 was previously known as Channel 5.
The deal runs wider than 5. Channel 4 Sales will also assume airtime sales responsibility for Paramount UK networks MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon. Three familiar channel names. One sales counter.
Not all sales move. Paramount Advertising International will exclusively handle in-house advertising sales for Paramount's direct-to-consumer brands Paramount+ and Pluto TV, services that go straight to viewers through their own apps. That Paramount unit will also continue to handle social, sponsorship and creative partnerships, the deals built around shows rather than standard ad slots.
Two executives sit at the top of the arrangement. Priya Dogra is chief executive of Channel 4, and she previously ran advertising at Sky. Reemah Sakaan is the head of 5.
For viewers at home, the screen looks the same. Programmes still pause for breaks. Channel names do not change.
What makes this stand out is the pairing. Two public service broadcasters usually compete for the same budgets. Now those budgets are sold through one house.
