Hollyoaks is AXED from Channel 4 after 28 years: Programme will move permanently to alternate station with episodes also going on YouTube in bid to make it ‘Britain’s first national digital-led soap
- Bosses confirmed he soap is being moved indefinitely from main channel to E4
Channel 4 has just announced that they will not be airing Hollyoaks episodes for the first time in 28 years.
Bosses have pulled the plug on Hollyoaks from being aired on it main channel Channel 4, in a new digital strategy to freshen up viewing experiences with the state-owned broadcaster.
The broadcaster announced today that the new schedule pattern launches on Monday 25th September and promises viewers ‘a massive stunt week of spectacular and standout storylines’ with ‘scenes shot in sensational new locations’.
But, fans of the soap, which started in 1995, may be relived to hear that the show is not being axed, but moved to its sister channel E4 in a bid to shake-up the schedule.
The most devoted of the soap based in the drama-filled Chester village will still be able to catch the weekly omnibus which will continue to be broadcast on Channel 4.
Episodes will also be uploaded onto Youtube to suit younger audiences, and will be made available to watch on YouTube the week after streaming and broadcast on E4.
Channel 4 has just announced that they will not airing Hollyoaks episodes for the first time in 28 years
Channel 4 has been the home to Hollyoaks for nearly three decades, and this latest change suggests an effort to keep up with a digital age, and reflects the increasing appetite for on-demand entertainment.
64 per cent of viewers watched the soap by streaming episodes or E4 this year which meant that 556 million minutes of the show being streamed in the first half of the year – signalling a shift in viewer habits.
The broadcaster has dubbed Hollyoaks as the ‘UK’s first streaming-led soap’, by making episodes available to stream the day before they are broadcast on E4.
Channel 4’s Chief Content Officer, Ian Katz said: ‘Hollyoaks has always been the youngest and most innovative soap so it’s fitting that it should be the first to embrace the changes in the behaviour of younger viewers and switch to a genuinely digital-led release pattern.
‘It was the first UK soap to move to a stream-first model last year and this is the next phase of that evolution.
‘We hope making Hollyoaks available on YouTube, as well as our own platforms, will introduce a whole new generation to the show.’