iPlayer connected TV traffic up in December

There were 309 million iPlayer TV and radio requests in December, with traffic from connected TV devices increasing as computer traffic declined.

In its latest iPlayer performance pack, the BBC said that month-on-month there was a 7% decrease in requests from computers and a 4% increase in TV devices, with mobile and tablet traffic also growing by 1-2%.

For TV programmes alone, viewers accessed 253 programmes, up by 1 million month-on-month, but down year-on-year from 259 million.

“Because a lot of BBC iPlayer viewing is simple catch-up, there is a strong link with linear TV – so highest in autumn and winter; however, major events and schedule variations cause significant monthly differences,” said the BBC.

“There were slightly fewer requests in December 2015 than in December 2014 (the schedule in 2014 included some very strong titles including Top Gear and The Missing).”

The Apprentice was the most popular series in December 2015, with Episode nine the top-performing episode. Overall the show made up four out of the top five programmes on the iPlayer in the month.

The BBC said that consistent with previous months, the profile of iPlayer users has evened out over time in terms of male/female ratio, but remains strongly under-55 in terms of age.

The iPlayer is used for TV at roughly the same time of day as linear TV viewing, although there is proportionally more daytime and late-peak use, according to the BBC.