Channel Five finally jumped on board the on-demand phenomenon today with the official launch of its Demand Five service.
The video-on-demand service, which soft-launched a number of weeks ago, has been formally rolled out today and will be emphasised to viewers via a major advertising campaign scheduled to kick off later this evening.
The service hopes to replicate the success of BBC's iPlayer, and will offer popular programming from the likes of Neighbours and Home and Away, completely free of charge.
In an effort to differentiate itself, Demand Five will also offer big-name shows such as CSI - only, with a catch. Shows such as CSI will be available at a cost, currently 99p per episode. That, we feel, will no doubt turn away many prospective users.
Demand Five is focusing on providing higher quality material, and though it will offer appealing high definition downloads, they'll be charged at £1.99 per download.
"Most viewers understand that you can now get your favourite TV online which allowed us to create a fun, accessible spot that reflects Demand Five's easy-to-use service," said Dom Sykes, Five's on-air brand director.
The majority of Five's programming will be available via the service free of charge for a period of up to 30 days. It's a welcome addition to the video-on-demand market, but it'll be hard pushed to compete with BBC's iPlayer.
Head on over to demand.five.tv to see it in action.
