Â鶹Éç

Press Releases Over 42 million programmes accessed on Â鶹Éç iPlayer in first three months

Category: New Media
Date: 09.04.2008
Printable version

Â鶹Éç research released today reveals that Â鶹Éç iPlayer has enjoyed significant growth in the first three months since its Christmas Day 2007 marketing launch.

Ìý

The total number of requests for downloads and streams of Â鶹Éç programmes in March was 17.2 million, rising from 14Ìýmillion in February, and 11.2 million in January.

Ìý

This represents a growth of approximately 25% month-on-month, and contributes to the total of over 42 million programmes accessed on-demand since the Christmas marketing launch.

Ìý

Average weekly users of Â鶹Éç iPlayer reached 1.1 million in March, up from January's average of 750,000 users.

Ìý

The average daily number of requests to download or stream programmes via Â鶹Éç 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.

Ìý

The first episode of the current series of The Apprentice (Â鶹Éç One) is the most streamed Â鶹Éç programme on Â鶹ÉçÌýiPlayer in its first three months, while Louis Theroux: Behind Bars (Â鶹Éç Two), in which the celebrated documentary-maker investigates America's penal system, is the second most streamed programme.

Ìý

Other titles appearing in the top 20 include the award-winning sitcom Gavin And Stacey (one of four Â鶹Éç Three titles in the top 20), and Â鶹Éç One's coverage of the England v France clash in Six Nations Rugby.

Ìý

Ashes To Ashes (Â鶹Éç One), EastEnders (Â鶹Éç One) and Torchwood (Â鶹Éç Two) all perform strongly, each appearing more than once in the top 20 most-streamed programmes.

Ìý

Ashley Highfield, Â鶹Éç Director of Future Media and Technology, comments: "Â鶹Éç iPlayer continues to show significant growth and we are delighted that audiences are responding to it so positively.

Ìý

"Its initial performance proves the case not only for Â鶹Éç iPlayer, but for all video-on-demand services over the internet, and benefits both our audiences and the industry as a whole.

Ìý

"We continue to work closely with the internet service providers with a view to driving the next generation of broadband internet access."

Ìý

Jana Bennett, Â鶹Éç Director of Vision, comments: "The depth and range of the Â鶹Éç's programming is genuinely prospering in an on-demand world.

Ìý

"The series opener of The Apprentice was the first programme to break through 100,000 requests to view in a single day, and then added 200,000 further requests to view over the week it was available.

Ìý

"Audiences are picking up on the big drama, factual and entertainment highlights of the season after the linear broadcast, as well as embracing the best of Â鶹Éç Three.

Ìý

"Within the last few days, the season premiere of the new series of Doctor Who generated over a 150,000 requests in a single day, which bodes well for the future."

Ìý

Last week's Penguins April Fool – in which a camera crew filming a colony of penguins were astonished when they took to the Antarctic skies – also helped Â鶹Éç iPlayer achieve record-breaking daily user figures: on 1 April, Â鶹Éç iPlayer received just short of one million requests to stream and download, almost doubling its traffic overnight.

Ìý

Additionally, to date there have been in excess of one and a half million views of the penguins on YouTube, and on the day it was YouTube's most viewed video.

Ìý

Today, Erik Huggers, the Â鶹Éç's Group Controller for Future Media and Technology, will also unveil a collaboration with Nintendo which sees Â鶹Éç iPlayer launching via the Nintendo Wii, in a keynote speech at the MIPTV-Milia conference in Cannes (see companion press release for details).

Ìý

Notes to Editors

Ìý

Total and daily stream and download requests by month

Ìý

Ìý

Top 20 programmes 2008 Q1

Ìý

Ìý

Measurement

Ìý

The Â鶹Éç's iPlayer measurement system uses a sample of users and there are variances with the other page traffic measurement systems. This data is not yet audited. The Â鶹Éç is working towards meeting industry standards for video and audio streaming and downloading. The Â鶹Éç is constantly working on its measurement systems and reserves the right to augment or change its methodology as the platform develops.

Ìý

MB1

Ìý