5Action
5Action (stylised as 5ACTION, formerly known as Paramount Network) is a British free-to-air television channel operated by Channel 5 Broadcasting. 5Action features a range of programming from the Channel 5 stable as well as other content from the UK and US, focusing on action, crime and wrestling. History. 5Action's programming and Freeview channel slot dates back to the days of Viacom's male-skewing channel Spike, which was launched on 15 April 2015 as a localised version of the American cable channel of the same name (now known in America as the movie channel Paramount Network ). When Spike was launched it took the channel number (then channel 31) from Viacom's music and comedy channel Viva, but was operated under the auspices of Channel 5's programming director Ben Frow. It primarily aired entertainment programmes, including action and drama series, police documentaries, and programming from its U.S. counterpart, as well as mixed martial arts. On 31 October 2017, the channel became 5Spike after Viacom decided the channel should be more closely associated with its sister channels and the Channel 5 brand. By now the channel slot had moved down one slot to number 32 due to  a Freeview reshuffle, with the same kind of programming found on this channel number for the next five years. On 7 January 2020, the brand was discontinued in line with Viacom's global company policy, with the channel taking on the name of its sister channel, Paramount Network, and with no major change to its channel placement or programming. On 19 January 2022, the channel was once again aligned to parent company Channel 5 when it got its second rebrand. It was changed to 5Action because the Paramount name is to be used for the streaming service Paramount+ (due to  be launched via a number of Sky devices in the UK) and as ViacomCBS has changed the main American Paramount Network into a movie channel. On 26 January 2022, 5Action was moved to a new Freeview number (channel 33) due to the relaunch of BBC Three on channel 23, meaning that all of the channels below had to be moved down one slot before the BBC channel started broadcasting again on 1 February 2022. Paramount Network. Viacom (ViacomCBS/Channel 5) operated two distinct versions of the free-to-air Paramount Network on Freeview (with the original pay-tv Paramount Channel  becoming Comedy Central in 2009). The first version of the Freeview channel was launched on 4 July 2018 as a sister channel to 5Spike, and with a high-definition feed exclusively on Virgin Media from 21 July 2018. It ceased to be available via satellite in Ireland on 13 July 2018 having supposedly been made available by mistake, even though the channel had been promoted to Irish viewers before launch (however, the channel could still be accessed on Sky in Ireland by adding it manually via the 'Other Channels' menu option). On 7 January 2020, Paramount Network was merged with  5Spike in its slots on Freeview, Sky and Virgin Media, and subsumed its +1 timeshift channel on Sky. The timeshift channel ceased broadcasting on 14 July 2020. Paramount Network rebranded as 5Action on 19 January 2022 in preparation for Paramount+ launching in the UK. Programming. The original British version of Paramount Network was as a general entertainment channel showing American movies and series such as "Suits" and "Lip Sync Battle". In 2020, Channel 5 merged this channel with that of 5Spike, with Paramount Network becoming more of a male-skewing channel, following the lead of the original American Spike TV , which targeted a young adult male audience, becoming Paramount Network in the United States. This second version of Paramount Network had a schedule very much in keeping with that of 5Spike, with action movies at night, westerns at lunch and programmes such as "Police Interceptors" and "Traffic Cops" running episodes back-to-back early evening. When the channel got its second rebrand in early 2022, again no major changes were made to the schedule yet on Freeview channel 32 apart from the Jason Bourne spin-off "Treadstone" debuting on the channel. Former programming (Paramount Network). Second version (formally 5Spike). Programmes  broadcast on the male-skewing version included...