IT Business
BBC iPlayer attracts 1m users per week
Over 17m downloads and streams in March
By IDG reporters | Published 09:49, 19 April 08
The BBC has reported strong growth for its iPlayer on-demand TV service, reporting that the total number of requests for downloads and streams of BBC programmes via iPlayer reached 17.2 million in March.
Compared to 11.2 million in January and 14 million in February, this represents a growth of approximately 25 percent month-on-month, and contributes to the total of over 42 million programmes accessed on-demand since the BBC iPlayer Christmas marketing launch.
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Average weekly users of BBC iPlayer reached 1.1 million in March, up from January's average of 750,000 users.
The average daily number of requests to download or stream programmes via BBC iPlayer easily broke through the half a million barrier in March, registering 550,000+ daily requests to stream or download, growing from an average of 360,000+ requests in January.
The first episode of the current series of The Apprentice is the most streamed BBC programme on BBC iPlayer in its first three months, while Louis Theroux: Behind Bars (BBC Two), in which the celebrated documentary-maker investigates America's penal system, is the second most streamed programme.
"BBC iPlayer continues to show significant growth and we are delighted that audiences are responding to it so positively," said Ashley Highfield, BBC Director of Future Media and Technology.
"Its initial performance proves the case not only for BBC iPlayer, but for all video-on-demand services over the internet, and benefits both our audiences and the industry as a whole.
