In spite of the hype surrounding the teen drama Skins and Big Brother's attempts to conquer the internet as well as the nation's television sets, Hollyoaks has emerged as the most popular show on Channel 4's '4 on Demand' (4oD) service, it has been revealed.

Since the broadband service was launched at the end of 2006, some 100 million shows have been streamed or downloaded, with the Chester-based soap the most popular of all its offerings.

Skins came second in the poll of popularity, despite having been on the air for just two series, while Shameless, Big Brother and Peep Show also made up the top five.

Notably, the latest figures released by the broadcaster show that demand for online television content is growing at a rapid rate.

From December 2007 to January 2008, the number of shows downloaded over the internet has increased by 69 per cent, while the 4oD PC channel has seen a 110 per cent increase in users since the start of the year alone.

Sarah Rose, head of video-on-demand and channel development at Channel 4, commented: "The huge boost is partly because of the popularity of the iPlayer boosting use of online video viewing - there is no question about that - but it is also because we have launched some great programming this year and become more efficient in the way we market 4oD."

The cost of films and other premium content ranges from 99p to £1.99 and some 2.3 million UK households have accessed the service through a variety of internet service providers over the past couple of years.

At the same time, however, new figures from the National Audit Office (NAO) suggest that UK television viewers may not be so tech-savvy after all.

Around one-third of the entire population is unsure about how to prepare for the forthcoming switchover to digital TV despite the ongoing advertising campaigns being carried out by broadcasters and technology manufacturers.

Though the whole of the country is set to switch to digital by 2012, some 45 per cent of all TV sets sold over the first half of 2007 were analogue, the new NAO report reveals, meaning around 26 million sets will need replacing over the next four years if nobody is to get left behind by the transition.

Perhaps more worryingly, around half of all retail staff do not have enough knowledge to properly advise on buying equipment capable of picking up digital TV, the report also found.

Despite this, the NAO is still confident that the UK will be ready in time, pointing to the all-round success of the digital trials in Whitehaven, Cumbria and the millions of pounds earmarked for making sure nobody misses their favourite show.