E4 (TV channel)
E4 is a British free-to-air television channel headquartered in London, United Kingdom owned by Channel Four Television Corporation. The "E" stands for entertainment, and the channel is primarily aimed at the 16–34 age group. Programming includes US imports such as Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Goldbergs, The O.C., Smallville, Veronica Mars, Everwood, What About Brian, Desperate Housewives, How I Met Your Mother, 90210, Gotham, Rules of Engagement, The Big Bang Theory, RuPaul's Drag Race, 2 Broke Girls, Scream Queens, Revenge, Rick and Morty, Harley Quinn and previously Friends. Other programming includes homegrown British shows such as Skins, Misfits, The Inbetweeners, Shameless, Fonejacker, Hollyoaks, Coach Trip, Celebs Go Dating and Made in Chelsea.
Its most successful broadcast to date was on 11 October 2010 when an episode of The Inbetweeners pulled in over 3.7 million viewers.
History
E4 launched as a pay-TV companion to Channel 4 on 18 January 2001. On 16 December 2004, Channel 4 announced that the subscription channel would become a free-to-air television channel by launching on the digital terrestrial television system.E4 launched a Republic of Ireland service in June 2002, which has become the second most popular non-terrestrial channel in Ireland with 1.1% of the audience; Sky One is the most popular.
In August 2005, following the close of that year's Big Brother, E4 introduced the E4 Music programming block. The slot initially ran through much of the morning/daytime schedule, though was later reduced to mornings only, with the amount of scripted comedy and drama screened in daytime increased. Prior to the launch of E4 Music, E4 was off-air during daytime for much of the year, only going on air in daytime for rolling coverage of reality series such as Big Brother. In 2008, the launch of 4Music as a channel led to questions being asked about the future of E4 Music. However, E4 retained its commitment to music content, stating that E4 Music had been commissioned to run until at least the start of Big Brother in 2009. At 10am on Thursday 4 June 2009, the day before the launch of the 2009 Big Brother series, E4 Music ceased broadcasting.
In July 2007, it was announced Channel 4 would be launching E4 Radio, the first of a network of channels to be broadcast on DAB radio. The station was planned for launch in July 2008 and aimed at a similar demographic to its television channel, however this launch date was later delayed. In October 2008, Channel 4 announced it was abandoning its plans for digital radio, and thus scrapping the E4 Radio proposal.
On 14 December 2009, a high-definition simulcast of E4 launched on Sky+ HD channel 215, it was later added to Virgin Media on 1 April 2010.
On 31 October 2013, E4 premiered a refreshed look as part of the channel's rebranding. This coincided with the debut of the seventh series of The Big Bang Theory, as well as the debut of original comedy Drifters.
On 27 September 2018, E4 was rebranded with a logo and identity, marking the first major rebrand since its launch in 2001. On 14 January 2019, it was announced that Channel 4 had partnered up with the American programming block Adult Swim, to air Adult Swim shows.
Programming
Most watched programmes
The following is a list of the ten most watched shows on E4, based on Live +7 data supplied by BARB up to 11 November 2018. The number of viewers does not include repeats or airings on E4+1.| Rank | Series | Episode | Viewers | Date |
| 1 | The Inbetweeners | 3.05 – "Home Alone" | 3,721,000 | 11 October 2010 |
| 2 | The Inbetweeners | 3.06 – "The Camping Trip" | 3,704,000 | 18 October 2010 |
| 3 | The Inbetweeners | 3.04 – "The Trip to Warwick" | 3,619,000 | 4 October 2010 |
| 4 | The Inbetweeners | 3.03 – "Will's Dilemma" | 3,572,000 | 27 September 2010 |
| 5 | The Inbetweeners | 3.01 – "The Fashion Show" | 3,456,000 | 13 September 2010 |
| 6 | The Inbetweeners | 3.02 – "The Gig and the Girlfriend" | 3,336,000 | 20 September 2010 |
| 7 | The Big Bang Theory | 6.01 – "The Date Night Variable" | 2,803,000 | 15 November 2012 |
| 8 | The Big Bang Theory | 9.05 – "The Perspiration Implementation" | 2,728,000 | 26 November 2015 |
| 9 | The Big Bang Theory | 9.12 – "The Sales Call Sublimination" | 2,688,000 | 24 March 2016 |
| 10 | The Big Bang Theory | 12.04 – "The Tam Turbulence" | 2,661,500 | 8 November 2018 |