The BBC iPlayer has recorded its best-ever first-quarter with March becoming the third best month on record.
315 million requests were received following a strong January and February. A total of 10.2 million daily requests were received, putting March just behind January 2018 (328 million) and December 2017 (327 million) as one of the best BBC iPlayer has ever seen.
Again drama dominated, taking 19 of the top 20 episodes in March, and it was an American drama that took the honours.
The first episode of The Assassination of Gianni Versace – American Crime Story, starring Penelope Cruz, Ricky Martin and Darren Criss, received 1.6 million requests. The show was followed by Collateral, Strike: Career of Evil and Call the Midwife, while EastEnders took 11 of the top 20 episodes for the month.
Dan McGolpin, controller of programming for the BBC, said: “The BBC iPlayer figures for March show requests running at 10.2m a day, making it our third best month ever and completing the most successful quarter on record. Leading the way in March was The Assassination of Gianni Versace as well as a range of world-class British drama such as Collateral, Strike and Call the Midwife. Also good to see BBC Three programmes getting such a strong reception in BBC iPlayer with the brilliant This Country their top performer this month.”
BBC iPlayer’s most popular episodes in March
| Rank | Programme | Episode | Requests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Assassination of Gianni Versace - American Crime Story | Episode 1 | 1620000 |
| 2 | Collateral | Episode 4 | 1230000 |
| 3 | EastEnders – part 2 | March 22, 2018 | 1221000 |
| 4 | Strike: Career of Evil | Episode 2 | 1138000 |
| 5 | EastEnders | March 13, 2018 | 1078000 |
| 6 | EastEnders | March 9, 2018 | 1070000 |
| 7 | EastEnders | March 16, 2018 | 1036000 |
| 8 | Collateral | Episode 3 | 1032000 |
| 9 | Call the Midwife | Series 7 Episode 8 | 984000 |
| 10 | Collateral | Episode 1 | 976000 |
Source: BBC
