CHANNEL 4 bosses are taking drastic action with Hollyoaks with a shock decision about the soap’s episodes.
The teen soap will now be released each morning on the channel’s All4 streaming service.
Bosses insist the move reflects how the soap’s audience watches the show.
Just 300,000 people tuned in to watch Wednesday’s Channel 4 episode of the soap – a drop from 1.1m in January 2020.
In comparison almost five million people watched Emmerdale and Coronation Street on ITV.
And more than 500,000 tuned in to watch soon to be axed soap Neighbours on Channel 5.
Channel 4 bosses insist the show is popular on the streaming service – claiming it is the most streamed show on the platform.
The decision will mean new episodes will be released in the morning, with the usual Channel 4 and E4 transmissions following.
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Channel 4 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.”
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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.”
Last year Coronation Street, Emmerdale and EastEnders all aired on the streaming platforms first due to on-going sports coverage.
However Hollyoaks is the first soap to go full-time in this way.
