David Farnor | On 21, Jan 2020

The launch episode of Love Island is currently the most watched show of the year among young people across all channels and the most watched digital channel programme of 2020 overall among TV viewers.  

The seven day consolidated audience figures showed that among the target 16-34 audience, 1.9m viewers – a 45.6 per cent share of that age group – tuned in for the first winter version of the ITV2 series.

Overall, a total of 4.8m viewers watched episode one of Love Island with 3.9m watching on television as well as 0.9m watching on Non TV devices. 

While it is premature to name something the biggest show of 2020 during January, ITV has some track record with Love Island’s booming success in recent years. The programme is ITV Hub’s most watched show both live and on catch-up, and, according to data from BARB, it was the second most popular on-demand programme in the whole of 2017 and the number one most live-streamed TV show of the year.

For ITV2, the new winter season of Love Island marks the biggest show on the channel since, well, Love Island last summer and its audience is up on the equivalent slot last year by an increase of 3.3m viewers and an increase of 12.8 per cent in audience share. 

The question for the year ahead is less how many TV shows will beat Love Island’s figures and more whether Love Island’s doubling up to air twice a year will impact its popularity.

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