Record year as billions tune in to BBC iPlayer

 
Record year: BBC iPlayer
Gideon Spanier24 January 2013

The BBC’s iPlayer set new records last year as Britons watched more than 2.32 billion TV and radio shows and mobile use almost tripled.

A quarter of all viewing and listening via iPlayer is now on smartphone and tablet, up 177%.

Top Gear, Doctor Who and TV drama Sherlock were among the top 20 most-watched TV shows of last year.

In another sign of rapidly changing habits, December was the first month when less than half of all iPlayer usage was on a personal computer or laptop.

“2012 was a ground-breaking year,” said Daniel Danker, BBC General Manager, Programmes and on Demand. “Mobile, tablet, and connected TV sky-rocketed, with a particular emphasis on audiences taking iPlayer on the go.”

Users have been able to download shows to their mobile device since September, allowing them to watch them later on the go — without an internet connection.

Danker said the peak time for viewers to download programmes was 10pm and most watched them on their commute to and from work the next day.

The Olympic Opening Ceremony was the single most popular show on iPlayer with 3.3 million views.

The opening episode of the latest series of Top Gear was the next most popular, with 2.8 million.

The most listened to radio programme was Jay-Z live at Radio 1’s Hackney Weekend.

The BBC launched iPlayer in December 2007.

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