Hollyoaks axed from Channel 4 schedule after 28 years in huge permanent shake-up
Channel 4 has announced that Hollyoaks will no longer be airing Hollyoaks episodes for the first time in 28 years.
The soap, which first began in 1995, will be moving permanently over to E4, with episodes also being uploaded to YouTube to suit their younger demographic, bosses have confirmed.
Since 2005, first look episodes of Hollyoaks have aired on E4 straight after the Channel 4 episodes. However, bosses have decided to switch up the main channel's content with new shows, meaning that it will be the first time in three nearly decades that the soap will no longer air on C4. It comes after bosses first began streaming the soap on its All4 platform and with the news that episodes will also be uploaded onto YouTube, it signals a clear digital strategy for Hollyoaks. Instead, the C4 soap will offer a first look online, with E4 airing an episode half an hour later.
The new changes are due to come into effect on September 25 for its big stunt week, which will involve The Traitors' Maddy Smedley (Faye Fuller).
It comes amid a sea of changes at the channel as bosses shake up scheduling ahead of next year. Other shows to get the chop include The Big Narstie Show, which first aired in 2018 and is presented by rapper Big Narstie and comedian Mo Gilligan.
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Hollyoaks will be moving away from Channel 4 (Channel 4)The BAFTA-winning late night show featured musical performances and interviews with celebrity guests, and Channel 4 informed producers earlier this year that The Big Narstie Show was not coming back.
A spokesperson for the channel insisted that it was not axed due to ongoing cost-saving measures, but was cancelled as part of a “natural evolution” of its busy schedule.
“The decision not to recommission a sixth series of The Big Narstie Show is not part of our response to challenges in the advertising market,” they added, according to Deadline.
“We are immensely proud of the five series we have made of this innovative BAFTA-winning show but we have to look carefully at what we commission each year to make sure we continue to innovate and offer viewers a varied range of programming.
“We look forward to working with Dice, Expectation and Big Narstie on other projects in the future,” they concluded.
Earlier this year, it was revealed Channel 4 was taking extreme measures in an effort to cut costs as the channel’s advertising revenue drastically reduced, and ratings plummeted.
A number of shows have been axed, rested or pushed back until next year, in a bid to deal with rising costs.
Khalid Hayat, Channel 4’s Director of Strategy, told a committee of lawmakers earlier this month that their priority was to “preserve shows as much as we can”.
“Our priority throughout this period is to preserve shows as much as we can, to minimise any disruption or cancellations to commissioning and any decisions that we make are about ensuring the sustainability and delivering the sustainability of Channel 4’s remit delivery,” he explained.
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