Hollyoaks to move to streaming first approach in Channel 4 schedule shake-up

Hollyoaks is to become the first UK soap to premiere its episodes on a streaming service ahead of the live television broadcast.

Channel 4 will release new instalments of the drama to its on-demand service All 4 each morning followed by later screenings on its E4 channel the same evening and on Channel 4 the following day.

The broadcaster said it will move to this streaming first approach from March to provide viewers with “further opportunities to view as they choose”.

This change comes after a strong year for Hollyoaks on All 4 as it was the most streamed scripted series and second most streamed series overall in 2021, Channel 4 said.

An explosive hour-long episode that first aired on January 11 was the most streamed Hollyoaks episode of the last 12 months in the seven days after its broadcast.

Channel 4’s head of drama, Caroline Hollick, said: “It feels like a natural step for Hollyoaks with its youthful outlook and audience to be the first UK soap to premiere new episodes on our streaming service on an ongoing basis.

“Our loyal audience want to get their soap fix when they want, where they want it, and the series’ continued popularity on All 4 proves that with this new ‘stream first’ approach we are serving a much broader range of viewers, from those who want to stream, to those whose tea time ritual is kicked off with Hollyoaks each evening.”

The schedule change is in line with the broadcaster’s Future4 strategy to move scripted content to debut on All 4 before a linear broadcast, as outlined bychief executive Alex Mahon last year.

Hollyoaks’ executive producer, Lucy Allan, added: “We are excited to see Hollyoaks embrace the digital first proposition so favoured by its youth-skewing audience, this feels progressive and full of opportunities for the show.”

From March, you can stream Hollyoaks first on All 4 and tune in on weeknights on Channel 4 and E4.