Channel 4 recorded its biggest-ever month of streaming in October, including a record for viewing in a single day. Barb data showed the broadcaster registered 6.7 billion viewer minutes in October – the largest since official data was first recorded in November 2021.
The broadcaster says the latest figures underscore its digital-first strategy. As part of that approach, Channel 4 has brought all its services under a single brand, with ‘Channel 4’ now used across streaming (owned-and-operated and social video platform distribution) as well as the broadcast linear channels. The separate BVOD brand, All 4, has been retired.
Channel 4’s previous biggest streaming month came in April this year, when audiences streamed over five billion minutes of Channel 4 content. Wednesday, October 25 ended as the biggest single day for Channel 4 streaming, with 268 million viewer minutes. This was boosted by episodes of Channel 4 fan favourite programmes including ‘The Great British Bake Off’ and ‘Married at First Sight UK’ (MAFS) from across the current series and the archive.
MAFS UK was the biggest on-demand show on the streaming platform across the month. The programme registered 1.5 billion viewer minutes, with 45% of the programme’s total viewing in the month coming from VOD. VOD viewing for the show was up +95% on October last year. Married at First Sight UK was also the biggest title across all broadcaster VOD in October for all viewers and for those aged 16-34.
Channel 4 streaming’s single biggest VOD episode in the month was episode two of The Great British Bake Off, with a VOD average audience of 2.9 million. This was followed by an episode of MAFS UK with a VOD average audience of 1.4 million. ‘Taskmaster’, ‘Gogglebox’, ‘Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins’, ‘Partygate’, ‘Rick and Morty’ also contributed to the streaming records.
Total streaming minutes as recorded by Barb show double-digit growth year-on-year for Channel 4 streaming. The Jan-Oct 2023 period was up +17%. Ian Katz, Chief Content Officer at Channel 4, has hailed the demand for Channel 4 streaming, both live and on-demand.
“For some time, our strategy has been to prioritise programmes that drive digital growth – and become the UK’s public service streamer. The MAFS juggernaut keeps rolling, but this performance was a real team effort, with new titles, Channel 4 classics and Channel 4 News all contributing to our best-ever streaming performance.”
Photo: Married at First Sight UK, which helped drive record streaming figures for Channel 4 in October.
