5USA

5USA
	Logo used since 2016
Country	United Kingdom
Programming
Language(s)	English
Picture format	1080p HDTV (Sky Glass only); 576i SDTV
Timeshift service	5USA +1
Ownership
Owner	Paramount Networks UK & Australia
Parent	Channel 5 Broadcasting Limited
Sister channels	5Action; 5Select; 5Star; Channel 5;
History
Launched	16 October 2006; 18 years ago
Former names	Five US (2006–09); Five USA (2009–11)
Links
Website	channel5.com
Availability
Terrestrial
Freeview	Channel 21
Streaming media
FilmOn	Watch live
Sky Go	Watch live
Virgin TV Go	Watch live (UK only) ; Watch live (+1) (UK only)

5USA is a British free-to-air television channel owned by Channel 5 Broadcasting Limited,^[2] a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global, which is grouped under Paramount Networks UK & Australia division. It was launched on 16 October 2006 as Five US and was the second digital terrestrial television channel in the UK to be launched by RTL Group (the owner at the time) as part of their multi-channel strategy, the first being Five Life (now 5Star). 5USA concentrates on showing imported movies and programmes from the United States.

History

The channel's original broadcast hours were from 4:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m., however it extended its hours starting at 12:00 p.m. in June 2007. On 1 November 2015, the channel began broadcasting from 7:00 a.m. until 3:00 a.m. The channel changes its programme slots and shows from time to time.

British comedian Russell Kane was the 'face of the channel', presenting short clips between some programmes which acted as space fillers to comply with advertising regulations in the UK (UK regulations allows fewer minutes of advertising than in the US) until 16 February 2009. The music used during the idents until February 2009 were "The Dress Looks Nice on You", "Chicago", "Jacksonville" and "The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts", all performed by Sufjan Stevens.

On 28 August 2007, Five US launched a timeshift channel – Five US +1 – available only on Sky.^[3] On 22 January 2009, it was announced that Five US would be rebranded Five USA on 16 February. It became 5USA in March 2011 as part of a corporate rebranding.^[4]^[5]

Programming

Current Programming

Criminal Minds (series 1-15, previously shown on Sky Witness, also on Disney+ and Paramount+)
NCIS
NCIS: Hawaii
Blue Bloods (also shown on Sky Witness)
Blindspot (previously shown on Sky Witness)
Law & Order (previously shown on Universal TV)
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Law & Order: SVU (also shown on Sky Witness)
The Blacklist (previously shown on Sky Living, Sky One and Sky Max)
New York Undercover (from 23rd December)

Former Programming

Person Of Interest
Castle
Columbo (now on 5Select)
CSI (now on Paramount+)
CSI:NY (now on Pluto TV)
CSI: Miami (now on Pluto TV)
Chicago PD (now on Sky Witness)
Hannibal (previously shown on Sky Living)
Justified (now on Disney+)
Lucifer (seasons 1 and 2 only)
La Brea (season 1 only , available on Paramount+)
Longmire
Murder In The First
The Enemy Within
The Mysteries of Laura
War of the Worlds (on Disney+)
Yellowstone (season 1 and 2 only , moved to Paramount+)
Sons of Anarchy (Now on Disney+)
The Mentalist''
The Guardian
The Shield

Ratings

The channel's highest ratings to date were on 12 February 2008 for the second part of the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Without a Trace crossover. The show averaged 2.58 million viewers between 10:00 and 11:00 p.m. equating to a multichannel share of 13.9%. Those numbers made the show the most-watched multichannel programme in its slot – beating every other channel (digital and analogue) aside from BBC One, and is currently one of the highest ratings for a multichannel in the United Kingdom.

Former logos

Five US logo
(16 October 2006 - 16 February 2009)
Five USA logo
(16 February 2009 - 7 March 2011)
5USA logo
(7 March 2011 - 11 February 2016)

Notes

^1 Seasons nine through fourteen were aired first-run on Channel 5. From the eighteenth season, 5USA obtained the first-run rights to the series.
^2 Seasons one through three and the first two episodes of the fourth season were aired first-run on 5Star. From the third episode of season four, 5USA obtained the first-run rights to the series.
^3 Universal Channel has first-run rights to Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in the United Kingdom, as of 2014. Universal Channel is currently airing the sixteenth season. Channel 5 had second-run rights to all seasons, up until the twelfth season. From the thirteenth season, aired in 2015, 5USA has second-run rights to the series. Universal Channel UK closed down on 27 January 2020 and their programming was moved to Sky Witness.
^4 5USA has finished airing episodes to this first-run or second-run series and is currently rerunning episodes in their schedules, as of 2015.

References

^ "Television Broadcast Licensing Update October 2006". Ofcom. Archived from the original on 4 September 2009. Retrieved 12 October 2009.
^ "Ofcom | TV Cable and Satellite". static.ofcom.org.uk. Archived from the original on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
^ Joanne Oatts (5 July 2007). "Five launches +1 services". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 13 April 2008. Retrieved 5 July 2007.
^ "Five US Rebranded to FiveUSA". Entertainment Interactive. Archived from the original on 28 August 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
^ "New brand identity for Five US". Digital Spy. 22 January 2009. Archived from the original on 24 January 2009. Retrieved 22 January 2009.