BBC iPlayer receives record viewing requests over the Christmas season

Published Tuesday 6 January 2009 at 17:10 by Matthew Hemley

Online catch-up service BBC iPlayer received 41 million viewing requests in December, with programmes such as Gavin and Stacey and The Royle Family contributing to its success.

In the seven days from Christmas Day to December 31, there were eight million requests alone to view BBC programmes.

The most requested programme was Wallace and Gromit - A Matter of Loaf and Death, followed by Doctor Who.

Gavin and Stacey, The Royle Family, comedy Outnumbered and documentary Blackadder Rides Again all made the top 20, with 17 of the shows in the list having originally aired on BBC1.

December’s 41 million gave the iPlayer its biggest month since its launch in December 2007. The total number of requests for the year now stands at 271 million.

BBC Vision director Jana Bennett said: “This was an excellent Christmas for BBC Vision as audiences fully embraced on-demand alongside their traditional viewing. The fact that BBC1 delivered 17 out of the top 20 programmes on BBC iPlayer and nine out of ten on traditional TV continues to prove that our channel brands remain strong across all of our platforms.”

To contact the Stage news team email newsdesk@thestage.co.uk or call 020 7403 1818, selecting option 2 (editorial) followed by option 1 (newsdesk).
If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".

Follow The Stage on Twitter and Facebook to get the latest entertainment industry news to your desktop or mobile.

The Stage Events
Loading

Latest news

King’s Cross Award for New Writing winner announced
Rob Johnston has won the King’s Cross Award for New Writing 2011.
ITV to expand characters’ storylines online
ITV is to expand on the storylines of characters in Emmerdale, by creating content that can only be accessed online.
Josie Rourke and Bartlett Sher to discuss directing on BBC Radio 3’s The Essay
Directors Emma Rice, Josie Rourke and Bartlett Sher will reflect on their careers and discuss the way they work as…
Southampton Mayflower chief executive to retire
Dennis Hall, chief executive of the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton, is to retire after 26 years in the post.
Sky orders more Stella and The Cafe
Sky has ordered second series of the Ruth Jones comedy Stella, and The Cafe, written by and starring Ralf Little and…
ENO dancers protest at ‘absurd’ pay conditions
Dancers working for English National Opera are calling for an overhaul of pay conditions, claiming their rate of less…

Content is copyright © 2012 The Stage Media Company Limited unless otherwise stated.

All RSS feeds are published for personal, non-commercial use. (What’s RSS?)