A combination of drama and sport enabled the BBC iPlayer to achieve its best ever February.
The first episodes of new drama series Requiem and Collateral (pictured) were the most popular programmes of the month, with 1.9 and 1.7 million requests respectively, while January’s hits McMafia and Silent Witness also made an impact. There was also a contribution from the Winter Olympics, FA Cup and the Six Nations, though drama took 19 of the top 20 places, and documentary a fourth.
Dan McGolpin, controller of programming and daytime for the BBC, said: “February was a record breaking month for BBC iPlayer with new drama titles such as Requiem and Collateral leading the way. McMafia continued its strong performance from January with the full series attracting viewers beyond the transmission of the final episode. It’s also great to see an increasing number of viewers finding top quality live sport on iPlayer from the Winter Olympics to the Six Nations to the FA Cup.”
Live viewing accounted for 21 per cent of all requests, the highest proportion since June 2017.
