back to article BBC iPlayer in 'hugely popular at Xmas' shock

Brits sure love the BBC's iPlayer, which clocked in a record 145m programme requests in December 2010, the Corporation chirped today. That total is up 27 per cent on December 2009's total, but only just under three per cent on November 2010's total of 141m requests. A sign that iPlayer's rapid rise has levelled off? Possibly …

COMMENTS

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  1. Anonymous John

    Well, I'm shocked.

    I didn't realise there was anything worth watching over Christmas.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      there wasn't

      Doctor Who was a sugary retread of a Christmas Carol and dire with it.

      Not even the great Michael Gambon could rescue that contrived turd.

  2. LuMan
    Thumb Up

    iPlayer

    I think the iPlayer is brilliant. It means I can watch all those good programmes in the 30-minute slots between all the fuggin' soap operas the missus watches! Well done Beeb!

  3. John Ruddy
    FAIL

    No good at maths

    You seem to think that a 3% increase month-on-month is less that a 27% increase year-on-year. well, if you worked it out, you realise that if the numbers increased by 3% (actually 2.8%) a month for a year, the year-on-year rise would be nearly 40%.

    So I would say the monthly increase shows an increased appetitie for iPlayer? I know you can probably say anything with statistics, but at least get them right!

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Great

    Didnt bother with Iplayer until it came as an option on my PS3 and discovered an amazing piece of technology. Very little buffering and a great picture, I now watch most of the tv via iplayer. As the piece says it would be good if they had it for the ipad.

  5. Tom 15

    It will rise...

    iPlayer usage still has a long way to rise... bring on YouView, etc.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    release iOS and Android clients

    There's a perfectly good website, that works fine, for Android. The only question is why the BBC deems that you should not use it when your browser is in mobile view?!? set it normal page display and it works fine.

    1. Chris 3

      FWIW

      iPlayer works fine on my old 1st generation Touch, I don't see much/any need for an app.

  7. turnip handler

    Clients all round?

    "Maybe the numbers would be higher if the BBC's governing body, the BBC Trust, would let the Corporation release iOS and Android clients - or at least stop it preventing third-parties from doing so..."

    The iPlayer mobile site works just fine on my Android phone, I'd rather the BBC work on supporting that rather than creating and maintaning 'clients' for every OS out there.

  8. Sam Liddicott

    no more broadcasting?

    It means broadcasting is on it's way out, and BBC have found a way to be happy about this

  9. Whitter
    Coat

    redundant repeat capability?

    Given how many repeats were on (same film different time-slot, every bloomin' day) there wasn't really any need was there?

  10. Miek
    FAIL

    Virgin Media Forgot ...

    Virgin Media Forgot to present details of how many of those 23.9M requests were actually delivered. My Broadband on xmas day was unusable.

    1. JOKM
      FAIL

      Why use broadband?

      When the Virgin Media TV service has iPlayer baked in.

  11. Paul M 1

    Title

    "Perhaps this figure shows it's time to put DAB out to pasture and encourage folk to upgrade to net-connected 'tuners' instead."

    Try getting a consistent net connection on the move....

    I know people moan about DAB (and with good reason sometimes) but if you want something other than Radio 1-4 on a train or car journey DAB is the only game in town.

    (Well, to be honest I listen to FM for the first 15 mins of my daily train journey and then DAB for the remaining 30 mins due to coverage... ah what the hell...)

  12. Stuart Halliday

    Let's be having you

    Still waiting for the Android iplayer version...

    Not much fun in my Android web browser.

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Eh?

    "Perhaps this figure shows it's time to put DAB out to pasture and encourage folk to upgrade to net-connected 'tuners' instead"

    Brilliant idea!

    Then I wont be able to listen to the radio in the car without a mobile broadband package! Nice One!

  14. jamesrhamilton
    Stop

    The internet? For radio?

    .. here's why it's not such a good idea: http://james.cridland.net/blog/what-a-500mb-fair-use-policy-means-for-radio/

    To reiterate, it's not a good platform for radio.

  15. Elmer Phud
    Unhappy

    Wot about

    No figures for those of us who use the Wii to get to iPlayer?

  16. JeffyPooh

    BBC World Service - 'World of Music'

    Supposed to be killed-off in March. Sniff...

    Please keep it on the air. It can't be all that expensive to have Mr. Coles sit down and spin some discs. Cutting the show to save money leaves a 26-minute hole that may cost as much or more to fill with less important noises.

    Pretty please?

  17. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Not surprising given the snow...

    people took one look at the state of the roads and stayed at home I think.

    May be a baby boom round Sept/Oct this year for the same reason!

  18. Richard Porter

    @AJ

    "I didn't realise there was anything worth watching over Christmas."

    That's precisely why people were trawling iPlayer for something bearable to watch.

  19. JeffyPooh
    WTF?

    The Internet? For radio?

    "...not a good platform for radio."

    Huh? I'm glad you told me. Otherwise I wouldn't have noticed.

    I listen to the weekly editions of more than a dozen BBC radio shows, and then listen to assorted music (Sky.FM, Slacker, etc.) in between. I use both mobile (iPhone) and fixed wifi gadgets (Sanyo R700, Sony Dash). I listen to more Internet radio than all other entertainment combined. I'm out of time before I'm out of entertainment; one must sleep sooner or later.

    Thanks for explaining to me that it's impossble. Otherwise I wouldn't have known.

    PS: It requires only a reasonably small fraction of my bandwidth. It would have to be 24 hours a day to even be significant.

  20. Richard Porter
    Stop

    Dead And Buried

    "Perhaps this figure shows it's time to put DAB out to pasture and encourage folk to upgrade to net-connected 'tuners' instead."

    And leave national networks on VHF/FM where people want them!

  21. AndrueC Silver badge
    Thumb Down

    Title. A title. My posted message for a title.

    I don't use iPlayer much but I had to last week. The BBC screwed up the series link for the first episode of /Silent Witness/ and my Freesat PVR didn't record the next evening's showing.

    Does that count toward 'Well done BBC for providing iPlayer' or is it 'Stupid BBC arseholes can't even create reliable EPG metadata in this day and age'?

  22. TelePom
    FAIL

    Overseas

    It'd go up a lot more if they'd let those of us wanting to use it from overseas participate. I paid for a license, which is still extant, but happen to be on a long-term overseas junket.

  23. Tim Jenkins

    How quickly things change...

    The only time we watch t'Beeb at all these days is via iPlayer on the Wii. Edwardian Farm, anyone?

  24. Leona A
    Unhappy

    not just the PS3

    so what about the Wii? We use the iPlayer on the Wii all the time, it works really well. its such a shame that its the only 'on demand player' that will work on that platform, no ITVPlayer, 4OD or demand5 :(

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