Millions of telly fans to receive a new free streaming service that rivals BBC iPlayer and ITVX

A BRAND new TV streaming service is set to grace the screens of millions in the UK next year.

Channel 5’s on-demand service My5 and free-ad-support-television (FAST) app Pluto are due to merge into a new, combined, app in the second half of next year.

Pluto TV

That means viewers will be access all Channel 5 content, plus Pluto TV‘s full library of more than 1,000 movies and over 400 shows, all in one place.

Paramount and Channel 5 (and other partners like MTV) already provide Pluto with some of their top shows, including Judge Judy, CSI titles, Catfish, Come Dine with Me and Most Haunted.

The new app will be the online home of all of Channel 5’s catch-up streams as well as live content.

The merged platform’s name is yet to be revealed.

In its announcement, Paramount Global said that a brand name, as well as other details, will be confirmed early next year.

The broadcast giant has promised “an extensive range of new, exclusive and archived content from Channel 5, as well as an extensive on-demand section and an outstanding collection of curated FAST channels from Pluto TV.”

Spearheaded by Paramount Global, which owns both Channel 5 and Pluto, the new app forms part of plans to grow a wider audience in the UK.

Channel 5 already has a number of online-only streaming channels on the free Pluto TV app, and some other online platforms.

For example, the Channel 5 Exploring Britain factual channel on Pluto.

But with the combined My5-Pluto TV app, the duo appear fit to take on the likes of BBC iPlayer and ITVX.

“As an early pioneer of FAST globally, we’ve seen incredible growth and excitement for Pluto TV in markets around the world,” Olivier Jollet, EVP and General Manager of Pluto TV at Paramount International Markets, said in a statement.

“This is a significant evolution for our free streaming business in this important market and a testament to how we strategically approach our platforms and the future of streaming.”