The latest series of Married At First Sight UK continues to deliver the goods for Channel 4, becoming the most streamed show across all streaming platforms.
- Channel 4 also reported its biggest single day for streaming views.
- Good news follows years of struggling to crack streaming market.
Records tumbled for Channel 4 streaming last month – with Married At First Sight UK the most streamed title across all streaming platforms Meanwhile, Channel 4 streaming set a record monthly viewing total in October (13,318 years, or seven billion viewer minutes) plus its biggest ever single day for streaming views (6.4 million).
Married At First Sight UK was the most streamed title across all streaming platforms – putting Channel 4 ahead of Netflix, Amazon, BBC, ITV and the rest – with 3234 years (1.7 billion minutes) viewed. The Great British Bake Off was the sixth most-viewed show in October, with 782 million minutes viewed. Growth in October was further fuelled by Gogglebox (213 million viewer minutes), Taskmaster (189 million viewer minutes) and Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins (150 million viewer minutes).
Across October, seven billion viewing minutes were consumed on Channel 4 streaming – a new monthly record. Meanwhile, Wednesday 30th October was its biggest day since April with 270 million viewing minutes watched.
The proportion of overall viewing via Channel 4 streaming across all groups also grew, by 12% year on year in October. Year on year, Channel 4 streaming’s viewer minutes are up 19% from January to October.
By genre, entertainment programming accounted for more than half of all streaming viewing minutes – such as MAFS UK and Young Sheldon – while drama accounted for 19% – including Hollyoaks and The Great – while documentaries such as 24 Hours in Police Custody contributed to 13% of all streaming.
Analysis: Channel 4 finally showing some promising streaming figures
It’s good news for Channel 4, which has struggled to establish itself in the streaming area. Its streaming service has undergone several revamps since its launched (4oD, All4), and has faced fierce competition from the BBC and ITV’s free streaming services. It’s also benefited from a policy of making its shows available beyond the broadcaster’s app, putting full episodes of selected programmes on YouTube, where more of its target audience are found.
However, Channel 4 hasn’t provided an update of how many viewers have opted to pay for its premium streaming service, a relevant factor for its profitability given the ongoing flat advertising market. And each broadcaster tends to pick out different statistics or selected percentages. That means that unlike traditional linear TV, it’s hard to do direct comparisons to see how well individual broadcasters are doing online.
Corporate comment
Kiran Nataraja, Director of Streaming & Content Strategy, Channel 4, said:
“Channel 4 streaming continues to break records, underlining the success of our Fast Forward strategy. Taken together with our social audience growth, with a trebling in UK views of full episodes of our programming on YouTube, it is clear Channel 4 remains the go-to for audiences on any device and via any platform, flocking to our compelling mix of well-loved brands and fresh made-for-streaming shows.”
By: Marc Thornham | Image: C4