The BBC iPlayer has achieved a new record day with 22.5 million requests.
The figure on Sunday May 10 included 1.1 million requests for prime minister Boris Johnson’s statement on the future of the UK lockdown.
Since Lockdown began the BBC iPlayer has received 927 million requests – 60% higher than the same 7-day period last year.
The success of BBC Three’s hit new drama Normal People, which has had over 28m requests to date and the continued popularity of Killing Eve contributed to iPlayer’s most successful week ever, with 146 million requests between 27 April – 3 May.
Both shows have received extensive promotion and exposure on BBC One.
Controller of BBC iPlayer Dan McGolpin says: “This has been a unique period in our history and I’m pleased that BBC iPlayer has been able to make such a positive contribution to what so many people are watching. “
Initially, growth was driven by people coming to BBC iPlayer for news, particularly the lockdown announcement itself, where the Prime Minister’s address received 900,000 requests. There was also a big increase in requests for children’s shows, including Bing, Hey Duggee and Numberblocks in this initial period.
Subsequently audiences have turned to comedy and drama.
