The BBC iPlayer is celebrating its third birthday with a record number of requests totaling 141 million during November and 1.3 billion across the year.November’s total surpassed the previous record of 139 million that had only be attained in October and was driven by a record 85.7 million requests from online platforms that include both the web and an increasing number of peripheral devices.
During most of the year online requests typically ran at around 68 million with a peak of 77 million in May and October’s jump to 84.1 million.
Virgin Media has been steady at around 18 million monthly requests throughout the year, but its TV version has also enjoyed peaks of 24 million and 23.2 million in October and November respectively.
PCs at 73% in November remain by far the most popular means to access the iPlayer, followed by Virgin Media (16%), PS3 (4%), mobile devices (4%). That connected TVs that include Samsung, LG, and Sony Bravia or STBs do not merit their own category shows this way of accessing the iPlayer to still be very much in its infancy.
Doctor Who was the most watched single programme of the year on BBC iPlayer with 2.2 million requests for The Eleventh Hour, followed by the first episode of Top Gear series 15, with 1.6m and Sherlock – A Study in Pink on 1.4m.