Gen Z discovering TV shows mainly through social media, Channel 4 says

Channel 4’s chief content officer, Ian Katz, cited the example of Virgin Island as a programme that had found an initial audience through social media Photograph: Channel 4

The days of discussing last night’s television over the office water cooler are long gone. If you want a hit show among gen Z – or for them to know it even exists – it has to make a splash on their social media feeds, Channel 4’s bosses have concluded.

Executives have spotted a trend in which increasingly hard-to-reach younger viewers are discovering programmes through the attention they receive on TikTok and other social media platforms. The broadcaster is now planning new video content for Spotify as it searches for ways to get its programming in front of under-30s.