Strategic Evolution of Content Distribution at Channel 4

BROADCASTERS x YOUTUBE

In this special episode of The Media Odyssey, Evan and Marion welcome their first-ever guest, Matt Risley, Managing Director of 4Studio at Channel 4. Channel 4 has made a bold shift in its approach to YouTube—transforming it from a marketing tool to a primary broadcast and monetization platform. Matt shares - in an exclusive for The Media Odyssey - insights and data on how the network tested, adapted, and expanded its YouTube presence, the challenges faced, and the data-driven results that followed. YouTube strategy for traditional media, with a particular focus on public service media and broadcasters.

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Channel 4’s social audiences thrive, driven by YouTube and Channel 4.0

Channel 4 led British broadcasters’ embrace of social in 2024, as YouTube audiences for full episodes of hit shows such as First Dates, Murder Case: Digital Detectives and Grand Designs swelled by more than two-and-a-half times (+169% year on year).

Newly released data for 2024 highlights Channel 4’s social leadership: its main YouTube channel saw higher average views per video than equivalent channels from the BBC, ITV and Channel 5, as well as more views than ITV, Sky and Channel 5. Channel 4 News also drove higher average views per video on YouTube than ITV News and Sky News*.

The success helped Channel 4 amass more than 2.3 billion views across its social output in 2024, up 5.5% year on year, driving it towards the aim in its Fast Forward strategy of growing social views.

The data also reveals the success of Channel 4’s strategy to reach young viewers via YouTube, with views of full episodes up 169% year-on-year, surpassing 110 million organic views in the UK. Hit shows included Gogglebox and First Dates, drawing in 4.3 and 2.9 million views respectively, while its Channel 4 Documentaries channel drove interest from viewers with series such as Murder Case: Digital Detectives (4.2 million views), 60 Days On The Estates(2.7 million views) and To Catch A Copper (2.5 million views).

Digital-first youth brand Channel 4.0 serves original digital content across YouTube and social platforms. It enjoyed a stellar year in 2024, with a doubling (+99% year on year) in growth across all social platforms - driven by series including Harry Pinero’s Worst In Class (8.4 million UK views), Minor Issues (7.9 million UK views) and Tapped Out (3.1 million UK views).

Among all Channel 4 social platforms, TikTok - across the seven niche, genre-specific channels it now operates - posted the biggest annual audience growth with an 81% rise from 2023. Married At First Sight UK was one of big successes with multiple videos driving millions of views, including the series teaser earning 14.5 million UK views. This clip from 24 Hours in A&E drove 5.5 million UK views while 24 Hours in Police Custody pulled in 3.6 million UK views.

Matt Risley, Managing Director, 4Studio, said: “Today’s news highlights Channel 4’s leadership on social, as we lead the way in extending the reach of public service media to digital natives, while delivering against our Fast Forward targets. The data also highlights the unique appeal of Channel 4’s social expertise to brands: driven by world-class content from our Commissioning team, unrivalled social expertise from 4Studio, Channel 4 Sales’ ability to match brands’ storylines to a social audience, plus the capability of our distribution team to curate innovative platform partnerships.”

Sacha Khari, Channel 4’s Head of Digital Commissioning, said: “In just two years, we’ve built a huge global fan base for British-made original content across YouTube and social platforms, delivering quality entertainment and factual programming wherever our viewers choose to watch. Growing this digital network has created incredible opportunities for my team to collaborate with UK producers, creators and brands - bringing Channel 4 values and award-winning content to young audiences. I’m excited to share more in the coming months about how we’re building on this success.” 

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• (00:00) - Introduction and Overview
• (00:33) - Welcoming the First Guest
• (00:48) - YouTube Strategy for Traditional Media
• (02:50) - Channel 4's YouTube Transformation
• (06:18) - Experimentation and Data-Driven Decisions
• (06:50) - Monetization and Sales Strategy
• (11:06) - Audience Engagement and Content Strategy
• (28:29) - Future Plans and Upcoming Reports
• (29:12) - Conclusion and Upcoming Events