BBC iPlayer records strongest month ever

BBC iPlayer, the UK public broadcaster’s catch-up service, saw a record 343 million requests in January, a month in which usage has habitually increased sharply, with requests from mobiles and tablets growing to almost half the total requests.

January was the iPlayer’s best month ever for TV viewing, with TV requests numbering 264 million. Overall, requests were up 3% month-on-month and 9% year-on-year.

Mobiles and tablets accounted for 48% of TV and radio requests in January, while TV platform operators accounted for 12% and internet-connected TVs and connected devices accounting for 8%. Computers accounted for 29%, the same proportion as in December.

For TV requests mobiles and tablets accounted for 51% of all requests in January.

Soap opera Eastenders was the most requested programme on iPlayer in January, with 1.928 million views, followed by an episode of Top Gear with 1.822 million and a special episode of comedy series Miranda with 1.773 million.

iPlayer users in January were 50:50 split between men and women, while 38% were between the ages of 16 and 34, 38% between 35 and 54 and 24% over 55. The comparable age-related figures for all TV viewers were 31%, 34% and 35% respectively.