Drama programmes fuel BBC iPlayer growth
The BBC’s drama output has been the most popular feature of the Corporation’s video-on-demand iPlayer service, new figures reveal.
In the weeks since the iPlayer’s launch on Christmas Day 2007, the service’s ten most downloaded shows included seven drama programmes. Episodes of Torchwood and Mistresses dominate the chart, with the first episode of Ashes to Ashes and the Christmas special of Doctor Who also faring well.
More than 17 million programmes have now been either downloaded or streamed to web browsers through the service, which allows people to view programmes up to seven days after their original broadcast.
EastEnders has also performed well, with each episode of the soap opera regularly being among the most frequently downloaded programmes on each day of transmission.
Ashley Highfield, director of BBC Future Media and Technology, told The Stage that a version of iPlayer for use on Apple’s iPhone and iPod touch will be released within the next two weeks, in addition to existing plans for an interactive TV service for Virgin Media customers. Further additions to the website will include improved page navigation, lists of the most popular programmes and the option to view subtitles.
Top ten iPlayer programmes to February 12, 2008:
- Doctor Who
- Louis Theroux Behind Bars
- Torchwood
- Ashes to Ashes
- Torchwood
- Six Nations Rugby
- Top Gear
- Mistresses
- Mistresses
- Torchwood
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