(cc) by-nd .Martin/flickr

E4 flagship young adults show Skins continues to show the way in online viewing. According to figures released (perhaps that should read 'claimed') by Channel 4, nearly 300,000 viewers watched the (first four episodes of the) show online. When you add in the almost 350,000 viewers who had recorded the show to a PVR before watching, you end up with a time-shifted total challenging the 700,000 who watched it when it was first on on E4.

What's the key to Skins' appeal, that means so many people are watching online? Well, it's clearly in the absolutely key (read: 'younger') demographic that loves to multi-task whilst enjoying their entertainment, and in all likelihood are IMing with their friends as they do so. Add a good pinch of getting-it-right when it comes to Social Media (they pretty much pioneered the UK broadcasters' MySpace activities), and it amounts to a really interesting prospect for kids to check out.

(cc) by-nd .Martin/flickr

Channel 4 has announced its intention to develop channel4.com with websites for every programme broadcast. Similar to the BBC's Programmes pages, currently in beta, these pages will hold information about the broadcast, plus video clips, etc.. But additionally the pages will contain new, made-for-web material exclusive to the site, with an example showcasing the power of the refresh available at The Great Sperm Race page.

It's all a bit diagonal-liney for my taste, but it looks like a great way to bring together all the content relevant to a show - and with the promise of commissioning money for additional content, seems like a great step in upping C4's (already first-rate) multi-platform game.

(cc) by-sa shaz wildcat/flickrWith the Guardian reporting that ITV has suggested, as one of the radical solution for the future of Britain commercial broadcasting, a merger with Channel 4 and Five, it's a good time to ask what that would mean for digital content in the UK.

(CC) by-sa videocrab/flickrRoutes, Channel 4's innovative, sprawling, complex and fascinating multi-platform production, will be making the move to Channel 4 television, when some shorts will feature in C4's '3 Minute Wonders' strand, Broadcast reports.