Hollyoaks fans unhappy over delays to Channel 4 streaming episodes
Hollyoaks fans have criticised Channel 4 after a chaotic start to the show's new stream-first strategy.
The long-running soap changed its release pattern last month to prioritise online streaming, but viewers have been left baffled by repeated delays to episodes going live.
Hollyoaks' revamped schedule sees E4 air the soap on weekdays at 7pm. Afterwards, a new episode drops on Channel 4's streaming service at 7.30pm, giving online viewers the first chance to catch all the latest drama from the village.
The first-look slot on streaming is even advertised at the end of the E4 episodes, but repeated delays to the uploads have frustrated fans in recent weeks.
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Monday's first-look episode (October 23), which saw fan favourite Mercedes McQueen celebrate her 40th birthday, did not drop on Channel 4 streaming as planned and only went live on Tuesday morning (October 24).
Friday uploads have also been delayed on more than one occasion – most notably on Friday, October 13 when the first-look streaming episode didn't drop until the Saturday afternoon.
Viewers are confused by the disruption as other soaps like EastEnders and Neighbours have managed to release daily episodes online with a regular schedule and no interruptions.
Writing on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday evening, one fan messaged Channel 4 to complain: "On the C4 app on my Sky box, the most recent episode is last Thursday. Today's episode is not available on any platform or the web browser. Are you intentionally making it difficult for people to watch?"
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Another questioned: "Has anyone else experienced issues with today's episode of @Hollyoaks because I can't seem to find it on Channel 4? I've looked everywhere but it doesn't look like they've uploaded the episode that was due to air today?"
A third pointed out: "It's been a constant issue since they switched to the first look being solely through the app."
Meanwhile, the Hollyoaks Instagram has been flooded with comments from fans questioning the episode delays and calling for the issue to be sorted out.
Approached for comment, a Channel 4 spokesperson told Digital Spy today: "A technical issue within our scheduling system has meant a small number of episodes have gone live to our streaming service slightly later than planned on certain devices.
"We are working to remedy this as soon as possible."
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When Channel 4 announced Hollyoaks' new schedule last month, it confirmed that the traditional 6.30pm slot on the main channel was being dropped but the network remained fully committed to the show.
Channel 4's Chief Content Officer, Ian Katz said at the time: "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."
Check out more of our Hollyoaks coverage:
Hollyoaks' John Paul McQueen faces his attacker again in shock Carter story
Hollyoaks star Alex Fletcher reveals huge new story for Tony and Diane
Hollyoaks streams first online via Channel 4 each weekday at 7.30pm. Episodes then air on E4 the following day, before getting their YouTube premiere a week after that.
Selected omnibus episodes are available via Prime Video.
Read more Hollyoaks spoilers on our dedicated homepage
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