Channel 4’s viewer database hits 10 million people

UK broadcaster Channel 4 has reached a milestone 10 million registered viewers, which it says will soon help to inform its creative teams in the commissioning and marketing of content.

Channel 4 said its online registration, which viewers are requested to complete in order to watch Channel 4 live on the web or access its 4oD catch-up service, has been key to its viewer engagement strategy.

It said this has allowed it to introduce new targeted video-on-demand advertising and drive its digital revenues – which are making up an increasing proportion of the corporation’s commercial revenue.

So far, Channel 4 said it has used viewer data to offer personalised recommendations, send emails to viewers and offer targeted ads, with many registered viewers also opting to link their Facebook or Twitter accounts to their Channel 4 account.

Channel 4 CEO David Abraham said: “We’ve been able to use the scale of the database to have a new and more direct relationship with our viewers and to offer our advertisers new and innovative ways of better targeting the audiences they want to reach.

“In the next phase of our strategy we want to further unlock the behavioural insight the data gives us to help add greater insight to our creative processes.”