Hollyoaks streams internationally on YouTube
May 28, 2024
Hollyoaks has become the first UK soap to be available in YouTube territories worldwide. The move allows fans around the globe to follow the drama by streaming full sequential episodes for free. It follows the launch of full episodes on YouTube in the UK last year, as part of Channel 4’s move to a stream-first model.
The international launch will follow the same pattern as the UK – with daily episodes available one week after their TX on Channel 4-streaming. The episodes will be available on the Hollyoaks official YouTube channel.
There will be 20 episodes in total for viewers to stream before joining the same daily drop pattern as UK YouTube subscribers.
The long-running series, produced by Lime Pictures – part of All3Media, had previously been available on American streaming platform Hulu.
Recent viewing figures revealed that Channel 4 flagship digital-first soap has seen nearly 40 per cent YOY growth in streaming views per episode in the first quarter of 2024. The youth skewing show has also seen its social media views rocket, with Snapchat increasing by 350 per cent YOY and TikTok up by 116 per cent. Full length episodes on YouTube in the UK and Ireland alone saw 5.8 million minutes of watch time in Q1 2024 with 67 per cent of views coming from 13 – 34-year-olds.
Lime Pictures Joint Managing Director, Kate Little, commented: “Hollyoaks is always synonymous with digital firsts and I am delighted that the show’s global audience will now be able to find and watch episodes when they want on YouTube. With a proven track record of enticing younger viewers with gripping storytelling and engaging characters, this digitally-led offering of episodes will allow new and existing audiences worldwide to get their Hollyoaks fix with ease.”
Channel 4 announced that its in-house social agency 4Studio had driven a three-fold year on year increase in UK viewing of full episodes of UK viewing of full episodes of TV shows in Q1 and it’s made-for-social network Channel 4.0.
Matt Risley, Managing Director, 4Studio, added: “We’re hugely excited to see Hollyoaks’ continual growth on YouTube, and this innovative move towards global distribution will only supercharge it further. YouTube is a core viewing platform for young viewers in the UK and abroad, so there’s no better place for us to be reaching new audiences with the best soap on TV.”