Public broadcaster Channel 4 recorded a successful October thanks to programmes including Married at First Sight UK and The Great British Bake Off.
- Married at First Sight becomes biggest on-demand show
- 25th October was Channel 4’s biggest streaming day with 268 million viewing minutes on its online platform.
The industry data released by Barb showed Channel 4 registered a total of 6.7 billion viewer minutes in October – the largest since official data was first recorded in November 2021.
Married at First Sight UK was the biggest on-demand show on the streaming platform across the month. The controversial show, which attracted tabloid interest over allegations of how contestants are manipulated, also became the biggest title across all broadcaster Video on Demand (VoD) in October for all viewers and for those aged 16-34, with VoD viewing for the show up +95 per cent on October last year. The show registered 1.5 billion viewer minutes, with 45 per cent of the programme’s total viewing in the month coming from VOD alone.
Taskmaster, Gogglebox, Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, Partygate, Rick and Morty and The Great British Bake Off were the additional ingredients that helped the ratings rise to new heights.
25th October goes down in history as the biggest single day for Channel 4 streaming to date with 268 million viewer minutes, boosted by episodes of Channel 4 fan favourite programmes including The Great British Bake Off and Married at First Sight UK from across the current series and the archive. These shows, which have garnered a dedicated fan base over the years, continue to resonate with audiences and draw viewers of all ages.
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, from its total audience in the month of 10.1 million, shortly followed by an episode of Married at First Sight UK with a VoD average audience of 1.4 million.
Corporate comment
Channel 4’s Chief Content Officer, Ian Katz, commented:
“I’m delighted to see viewers flocking to Channel 4 streaming in record numbers to enjoy brilliant shows – both live and on demand. For some time, Channel 4’s 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. And November has got off to a brilliant start with Banged Up: Stars Behind Bars notching up our biggest-ever streaming launch for an unscripted format.”
Channel 4’s previous biggest month came in April earlier this year.