My5 Strikes First Foreign-Language Deal With Israeli Dramas

Channel 5 has signed its first content partnership deal for streaming service My5. The agreement with HOT Telecommunication Systems is for a selection of four original Hebrew language drama series produced by the Israeli cableco. All of the content will debut on My5 in the spring of this year and will be subtitled in English.

“Israel has produced some of the most compelling original drama in recent years, so we’re excited to have partnered with HOT for our first ever foreign language offering on My5,” James Tatam, VP of Commercial, Digital & Operations, Channel 5 commented. “Our viewers want quality and variety and we will continue to look far and wide to increase the diversity of content on My5.”

HOT will supply true-life drama Miguel (6 x 60 minutes), comedy-drama Juda (8 x 60 minutes), family drama Mekimi (5 x 60 minutes) and two series of crime drama Sirens (10 x 60 minutes each).

Tal Granot, CEO of HOT said “HOT is the leading communication group in Israel and the home of Israeli creation. The demand for top Israeli content is increasing worldwide and for more than a decade Israeli series created by Hot have received and won international awards. We are excited to be partnering with Viacom, enabling UK viewers to watch some of HOT’s leading productions.”

This latest deal supports My5’s move to offer a wide range of third-party content alongside popular programming from across the Channel 5 portfolio. In 2018, Channel 5 announced that it had signed My5 content partnership deals with PBS America, A+E Networks UK for its free-to-air entertainment channel BLAZE, the Together channel, Little Dot Studios and BET.

UK broadcasters are looking to broaden their online offerings from beyond the initial catch-up windows from which they first launched.