MAFS UK fever propels Channel 4 to biggest ever month of streaming

Married At First Sight UK and The Great British Bake Off have seen Channel 4 storm through its biggest ever month of streaming.

The hit reality series are hugely popular with viewers and have helped Channel 4 to secure a big win for its streaming service as people have been flocking to the broadcaster to catch up on all of the action from their favourite shows.

Newly released industry data from the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board (BARB) shows that Channel 4 registered 6.7 billion viewer minutes in October – the largest since official data was first recorded in November 2021.

MAFS UK has drawn in viewers for its heady combination of love stories and dramatic dinner party rows, while Bake Off fans have been tuning in to see Alison Hammond's first series as host of the contest.

Dating hit MAFS UK also became the biggest title across all broadcasters' video on demand (VOD) services in October for all viewers and for those aged 16-34, with VOD viewing for the show up 95% on October last year.

Read more:

• MAFS UK's Peggy and Georges reveal plans for huge relationship milestone after show

• MAFS UK divides fans as Adrienne doesn't want kids but stays with Matt who does

• The Great British Bake Off quarter final: Who went home?

Of the total for the record-breaking October, 1.5 billion viewer minutes came from MAFS UK but Taskmaster, Gogglebox, Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, Partygate, Rick and Morty and The Great British Bake Off were also streaming hits.

Bake Off and MAFS UK's current and archive series were popular choices on the single biggest day of Channel 4 streaming, Wednesday 25 October, which recorded 268 million viewer minutes.

Channel 4 streaming’s single biggest VOD episode in the month was episode two of The Great British Bake Off at an average audience of 2.9 million, followed by an episode of MAFS UK with an average audience of 1.4 million.

Channel 4’s chief content officer Ian Katz said: "I’m delighted to see viewers flocking to Channel 4 streaming in record numbers to enjoy brilliant shows – both live and on demand. For some time, Channel 4’s strategy has been to prioritise programmes that drive digital growth and become the UK’s public service streamer.

"The MAFS juggernaut keeps rolling, but this performance was a real team effort, with new titles, Channel 4 classics and Channel 4 News all contributing to our best-ever streaming performance.

"And November has got off to a brilliant start with Banged Up: Stars Behind Bars notching up our biggest-ever streaming launch for an unscripted format."

Hollyoaks, Made in Chelsea, Four in a Bed, Don’t Look Down for SU2C, Taskmaster, In Love & Toxic: Blue Therapy, Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, Channel 4 News and Gogglebox all featured in the list of Channel 4 streaming hits in October, as well as boxsets of Frasier, The Big Bang Theory, Scandal, The Inbetweeners and The Good Doctor.

Read more: Married At First Sight

• MAFS UK fans call out Peggy's 'villain' mum as daughter makes heartbreaking decision

• Married At First Sight: Why falling in love IS possible on TV (and show's fatal flaw)

• Married At First Sight's expert Mel Schilling: ‘We don’t create the drama’ (exclusive)

• Married at First Sight's Peggy and Georges: Inside their rocky dating show romance

• MAFS UK star Porscha says show helped her discover 'triggers' she didn't know she had

• MAFS UK star Paul says his mum categorically 'denied' he was on the show

• MAFS UK star Nathanial Valentino calls E4 show a 'complete sham'