The number of programmes watched on Virgin Media’s on demand service in 2010 was just under 900 million, representing a 10% increase on 2009, itself a record.The figures form part of the Virgin Media Entertainment index, released by the cable operator on Monday. With demand and awareness both increasing, Virgin Media predicts total On Demand views will exceed one billion in 2011.
Cindy Rose, executive director of digital entertainment at Virgin Media commented. “As connected TVs bring even more great content to the social screen, the ability to navigate this vast world of entertainment will become critical. Search, browsable collections and recommendations are set to become the dominant discovery tools for the next generation of TV viewers.”
Virgin On Demand viewing is now equivalent to being the third most-watched channel on the platform, behind just BBC One and ITV1, with the average viewer watching for close to two and three quarter hours every week. Virgin is the only managed platform to provide catch-up services from all four public service broadcasters.Virgin Media’s TV service was also responsible for more than one in every five BBC iPlayer video requests throughout 2010.
