ByJonathan Easton

January was the biggest ever month for Channel 4’s catch-up service All 4, driven by the success of drama It’s A Sin.

The broadcaster said that viewing figures were up 91 per cent year-over-year, with the Russell T Davies-helmed series already attracting 6.5 million views. The series, which focuses on the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s, has become the streaming services’ biggest ever instant box set and third biggest series to date. The first episode of It’s A Sin was the most popular drama launch on record for the show.

On linear TV, the series debut attracted an average audience of 3.3 million viewers and 14.5 per cent of the viewing audience – with 18.4 per cent of 16-35 year olds.

Channel 4’s chief content officer Ian Katz said: “The extraordinary performance of It’s a Sin is a reminder that powerful drama with something important to say about the world can also be commercially successful. It has also demonstrated how our strategy of box-setting shows on All 4 can bring a greater combined linear and digital audience to a show than a traditional release pattern. It’s been a key driver of All 4 viewing in a month that has seen our digital viewing on our own platforms up by more than 90 per cent compared to the same period last year.”

Overall, All 4 has 24 million registered users and offers over 13,000 hours of content for free, including shows from Vice and Adult Swim. It boasts the claim of being the youngest-profiling streaming service from a UK PSB, with 80 per cent of all 16-34 year olds being registered to All 4.