Slow start to 'Life' for Five

New station Five Life got off to a disappointing start on Sunday night, registering an average primetime share of just 0.21%.

The channel ranked 45th in multichannel homes, comprehensively beaten by established rivals including ITV2 (2.55%), Film4 (1.65%) and BBC Three (1.46%).

Launch show Inside The Priory delivered just 39,000 viewers while spinoff series Make Me A Supermodel Extra had 18,000 in the 9pm hour - despite benefitting from extensive cross-promotion on the terrestrial service. Aussie drama import Love My Way showed some promise at 10pm with an average of 49,000 viewers and a 0.33% share.

Five Life's opening night - one day before the launch of sister channel Five US - ranks as the worst received multichannel launch for a terrestrial broadcaster ever. ITV3 managed a share of 1.55% two years ago while Film4's revamp as a free offering earlier this year had 2.39%. Lads channel ITV4 was the most successful launch of recent years with an opening night share of 3.74% last November.