Channel 4 had its biggest ever month of streaming last month, as viewing rose 40% year-on-year – with 6.9bn viewer minutes.
The record figures were driven by factual shows The Jury: Murder Trial, To Catch a Copper and Candour’s The Push: Murder on the Cliff.
18% of Channel 4 viewing now comes via streaming, which it says justifies its digital-first model.
“I’m delighted to see our streaming-first strategy delivering across genres. In last the few months we’ve had a hugely successful run of factual programming combining purpose and scale,” said Channel 4’s Chief Content Officer Ian Katz.
“Several of these shows have used the appeal of true crime stories to tackle big topics – like police malpractice, honour killing and debates about the justice system – through projects that are genuinely revelatory and innovative, and get people of all ages talking. This data shows a really strong start to what will be a transformative year, after we laid out our Fast Forward strategy and began reengineering our business to become a genuinely digital-first public service streamer.”
The BARB data also revealed 18% growth in viewer minutes among 16-45-year-olds in Q1 compared to the same period last year.
Amongst 16-34s, 38% of all Channel 4 viewing is now streamed, compared to 29% in Q1 2023.
The Push: Murder on the Cliff, the 2-part series on the murder trial that followed the death of Fawziyah Javed – recorded 190 million streaming viewer minutes across both episodes in the 28-day period. Overall, 44% of viewing came from streaming, rising to 68% for 16-34s.
