A record number of viewers turned to the BBC iPlayer during the first half of 2020. The streaming service received 3.1 billion requests, representing a 47% increase on the previous year.
The period between April and June marked a new “best ever” quarter for BBC iPlayer and coincided with the start of the UK lockdown that effectively began on March 23rd.
There were 1.6 billion requests in the period an increase of more than half (59%) on the same quarter last year. Viewing was already increasing prior to the UK lockdown. The first quarter was 34% higher than the same quarter for 2019.
“It’s fantastic to see record viewing levels on BBC iPlayer across the first half of 2020, with huge numbers for the brand new and simply unmissable Normal People and for hotly anticipated returners like Killing Eve, This Country and Race Across the World,” said Dan McGolpin, controller of BBC iPlayer. “In a year full of challenges, BBC iPlayer has entertained us, connected us to events like the virtual Glastonbury and the restarted football season, broadened our horizons through Culture in Quarantine, educated our younger family members through BBC Bitesize and all the while kept us informed of the latest news from around the globe.”
Boosted by lockdown viewing, April-June was up 59% on the same quarter last year and 17% on the first three months of this year.
