[Newshound47]

In a few years' time, when linear viewing is a real minority, it's going to be a no-brainer that the streaming service is called 'Channel 4'. Might as well start that process now. I completely back it.

More like 10-15 years.

[Newshound47]

Another sign of youth audiences preferring to watch on VOD or E4 first rather than on C4 linear the next day.

Hollyoaks innovated with the first airing on a digital multichannel first and now joins EastEnders which has their first airing on iPlayer on the broadcast day.

Didn’t Eastenders air first on BBC Choice/BBC3 around 2002/2003.

[Brekkie]

C4 say only a third of the shows audience watch the linear C4 airing, with about the same again for E4 and, well, C4. It rarely makes it into the C4 Top 50 nowadays, but quite regularly makes the E4 top ten.

[Joe]

More like 10-15 years.

Well that's what I had in my head when I said 'a few' tbh. Does it change my point?

[Brekkie]

Considering it’s been an E4 first soap since about 2007 (maybe earlier?) this isn’t surprising. I can’t imagine there being a lot of people watching Hollyoaks at 6:30 on Channel 4 now. Infamously I recall most of the target audience watched it on Sunday mornings (hungover) for a while, but that slot has long since gone.

I think they were already screening First Look Hollyoaks when it launched on Freeview in 2005.   Not sure exactly when that started - initially they repeated the C4 episodes at 8.30pm.

[James2001]

Didn’t Eastenders air first on BBC Choice/BBC3 around 2002/2003.

Only during the channel's first week, which was a publicity stunt rather than anything intended to be ongoing

[JAS84]

Their normal practice was instead to repeat the day's EastEnders episode at 10pm.

[Parsons]

It’s got to be the beginning of the end for it, surely? I wonder which soap will be next?

I do occasionally catch Hollyoakes at tea time channel hopping and honestly, it’s just so painfully, abysmally bad, but not in an ironic way.

Imagine Hollyoakes being your job, then coming home and having to say to that world, “that is what I made today” 🤣🤣🤣

[James2001]

Their normal practice was instead to repeat the day's EastEnders episode at 10pm.

Something which BBC Choice had been doing beforehand anyway.

[Brekkie]

It’s got to be the beginning of the end for it, surely? I wonder which soap will be next?

I do occasionally catch Hollyoakes at tea time channel hopping  and honestly, it’s just so painfully, abysmally bad, but not in an ironic way.

Imagine Hollyoakes being your job, then coming home and having to say to that world,  “that is what I made today” 🤣🤣🤣

It is so frustrating because overall it is below par, dominated by characters who should have really left years ago - but when it is strong, as with the Charlie suicide scenes this week - it is absolutely excellent and you can really see the Hollyoaks of old.    A big problem is though they park storylines and forget about them for weeks, and then will pick it up six weeks later from where they left off.