ITV reality show streamed 640,000,000 times despite fans claiming they’re ‘done’

ITVX have released their top streamed shows and one programme’s inclusion in the list may shock many people.

To celebrate the catchup service’s second birthday, ITV has given an insight into viewing habits with a full rundown of the series we can’t get enough of.

Dramas accounted for 1.5 billion streams, which included Red Eye, After The Flood, Trigger Point, The Long Shadow, Joan, and Until I Kill You.

It’ll come as a surprise to few that the impactful Mr Bates vs The Post Office took the crown as ITVX’s most watched commissioned title. It also had a total audience of 15.1 million viewers watching the final episode of the four-part series.

The second most watched commissioned programme, based on streams to most watched episode, is Love Island. In total, it has delivered a massive 640 million streams. This may come as more of a revelation, as some people have said they are turned off by the dating show.

This position meant it even beat juggernaut I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! which landed the third spot. Red Eye and Trigger Point completed the list, which excluded sport.

Three Euro 2024 matches and one 2022 World Cup audience, attracted nearly 70 million streams combined. The biggest UK audience of 2024 is ITV’s coverage of England vs The Netherlands, which peaked with 21.6 million viewers across ITV1 and ITVX.

Kevin Lygo, ITV’s Managing Director of Media and Entertainment said: ‘There will be countless lists this month on the shows of the year, but let me say this ahead of them –  in terms of the most talked about programming, that resonated with the largest volume of UK viewers in 2024 – ITV has been the market leader. Mr Bates vs The Post Office is the most watched UK drama of 2024, bigger than anything on any other channel or streamer.’

‘With 640 million streams since ITVX launched, Love Island is surely the biggest reality show in streaming, with UK audiences,’ Lygo added.

He also celebrated ITVX being ‘the UK’s fastest growing streaming platform over the last two years.’

In 2024, ITV aired the first UK Love Island All Stars, and series 11 of the original version. After watching Molly Smith and Tom Clare win the former, fans complained it was ‘a complete snooze fest’. While others said they didn’t have it in them to watch another series (clearly a few million do).

The summer show saw fans complain about the worst line-up ever, and they slammed Joey Essex for worsening the vibe.

Despite the gropes, original fans still found it necessary to tune in, but some weren’t entirely happy about it. Many even compared it the obligation of having to carry out jury duty.

The comparison was first made by X account Ruby Naldrett in 2023, when she wrote: ‘At this point watching love island has become like jury duty for me, i’m not really enjoying it but i have to be involved.’ It is since something Love Island watchers have referred back to repeatedly.

Despite the mixed reactions, it’s clear that plenty of fans are still tuning into the show in their masses.

But, why are so many people still watching Love Island, despite claiming to hate it?

Dr Ross Garner, who is a Senior Lecturer in Spatial and Material Cultures of Media Consumption at Cardiff University, previously offered an explanation to Metro as to why we’re all so attached to dating shows.

‘One of the longest-standing pressures that have been placed on – and continues to be placed on – any member of a society has been to find a partner and reproduce,’ he said.

‘Heterosexual coupling aligns perfectly with the aims of capitalism by ensuring the continuation of a pipeline of people who can maintain the means of production and the status quo if you want the Marxist reading of romance.’ So basically, we enjoy watching people fall in love as we’ve been taught that’s a huge and important part of the reason we’re on earth. The episodes can also makes people who are having the universal experience of trying to find or maintain romantic relationships feel less alone.

Dr Ian Goode, Senior Lecturer in Theatre, Film and Television Studies at the University of Glasgow believes the way reality TV ‘legitimises voyeurism’ and ‘places us in a privileged position to witness engineered situations’. This can give viewers a thrill.

‘TV can become a classroom for parts of life that are otherwise far more private. How many times in real life have we seen the actual dating process of anyone else? It allows us to see the range of behaviours, be entertained by those we find weird, and learn those that we think might help us,’ added Forensic Psychologist Dr Simon Duff.

Love Island has been a part of many fans’ lives for almost a decade, having relaunched in 2015. Being such a huge part of our TV memories, it may feel more natural to turn it on than to actively avoid. Nikki Onafuye, pop culture journalist, told Cosmopolitan: ‘It has become a part of British culture now. If you’re not in at 9pm watching Love Island, what are you doing?

‘I think also people have a lot of loyalty to the show because it has birthed love stories for the ages, like Dom and Jess [Lever] from series three or Alex and Olivia [Bowen] from series two.’

It can provide a nice escapism from everyday life, and it doesn’t require too much concentration to keep up with the plot. Something that can be alluring after busy days. While psychological thrillers and period dramas have their place, so do dating shows.

Additionally, host Maya Jama is someone fans passionately campaigned to have fronting the series. She called their desire ‘flattering’ before eventually taking on the role when Laura Whitmore, who took over from the late Caroline Flack, quit the show.

Maya is clearly incredibly popular with audiences, and so could be part of the reason fans have remained invested. Her epic styling alone could be considered enough reason to tune in for some.

Love Island is not without its issues with fans asking for older contestants, and more diversity if it’s to maintain its standing in the TV world for years to come. Perhaps also, fans may be more proud to declare their adoration for Love Island if they felt it was reflective of society. However, despite it all, it doesn’t look like anyone is removing their eggs from Love Island’s basket in the near future.

Love Island is available to watch on ITVX.

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