David Farnor | On 02, Jan 2021

All 4 had a year of record growth in 2020, after viewers turned to Channel 4 in huge numbers both online and on TV. All 4 views surged by 30 per cent compared with the year before, while Channel 4’s linear viewing share over all hours jumped 4 per cent.

Views to content on All 4 were set to hit 1.2 billion by the end of 2020, with digital viewing set to make up a record 12.5 per cent of Channel 4 viewing – its highest ever level. This growth was driven by a combination of established Channel 4 favourites and new titles including The Great British Bake Off, Taskmaster, Deadwater Fell, Murder in the Outback, Barrymore: The Body in the Pool, Gogglebox, Joe Lycett’s Got Your Back, Friday Night Dinner, Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins and The Great House Giveaway.

Box sets such as Scrubs, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The West Wing and ER have particularly fuelled viewing on All 4, with views of exclusive content up 66 per cent. The most binged title on All 4 of 2020 was Married at First Sight Australia, while on Channel 4’s linear channel, a range of popular shows hit their biggest ever audiences: The Great British Bake Off had its biggest ever Channel 4 audience with 11.5m, the channel’s second biggest commissioned programme ever. Other shows that attracted record audiences include Gogglebox (6.5m); Friday Night Dinner (4.3m); Celebrity SAS (4.2m); 24 Hours in Police Custody (3.8m); Escape to the Chateau (3.4m); and Taskmaster (3.0m).

Channel 4 News had a standout year with viewing share growth of 15 per cent for the main weekday 7pm programme. It also had huge success in reaching audiences digitally and has the biggest social media following of any news programme in the UK, with over 1.5 billion minutes watches on YouTube and Facebook over 2020, and the fastest-growing YouTube news channel in Europe with 1.5m subscribers.

Channel 4 launched its 4Studio digital content arm based in Leeds in 2020 and over the year has driven huge engagement with short-form content – reaching over 15 billion minutes viewed and 11 billion views in the year to date. In June Channel 4 also agreed a new partnership with Snapchat to bring versions of its content to young viewers and this has already seen shows like Hollyoaks and Celebs Go Dating reach millions of 16-34-year-olds across the UK.

Ian Katz, Director or Programmes at Channel 4 said: “2020 has been an exceptionally challenging year for our nation but I’m pleased that, as a public service broadcaster, we’ve not just provided trusted news and information, but responsive content to help viewers through the hard times and more than a bit of escapist entertainment to provide a glimmer of joy in these rather grim times. Crucially, at a time when more people have been watching television and streaming services, I’m proud that Channel 4 has grown its share of all audiences – particularly with young viewers – and seen record growth in our digital viewing on All 4.”

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