BBC iPlayer user numbers hit 1.4 million a day
The BBC’s iPlayer was visited by more than 1.4 million people daily in February and received 3.5m requests for content. Latest figures from the BBC revealed the average time spent watching TV programmes on the iPlayer in February was 64 minutes, while radio listeners on average spent more than 163 minutes a week using it. The BBC said requests from Nintendo Wii consoles continued to grow, accounting for 5 per cent of TV requests, and iPhones now... [Read More...]
BBC to roll out iPlayer across Freesat HD
The BBC is to expand its video on demand BBC iPlayer service by making it available across Freesat HD digital boxes and HD TVs. A Freesat spokesman said the rollout will take place “over the coming months”. It continues the BBC’s experiment into offering its catch-up service via a subscription-free TV service. The initial trial launched in November 2009 and involved some 300 viewers with the Freesat Humax digital boxes. Its... [Read More...]
Top Gear is most-viewed TV programme on BBC iPlayer as VoD requests top 88 million
Top Gear was the most-watched TV programme of the year on BBC iPlayer, as the VoD service overall received a record 88.2 million VoD requests. New BBC data provides insight into how users of BBC iPlayer, now available on more than 20 different devices, differ per platform. Mac and PS3 users of BBC iPlayer prefer comedy shows such as Mock The Week, while PC and Virgin Media users are more keen on drama, with EastEnders and Waking The Dead proving... [Read More...]
BBC iPlayer to launch on Freesat
The BBC iPlayer is set to launch a beta service on Freesat as soon as the end of the month. The free-to-air satellite service, a joint-venture between the BBC and ITV, broadcasts more than 140 TV and radio channels without subscription for users who purchase a special receiver. It also offers a selection of high-definition programming from the BBC and ITV. The platform will be the first subscription-free TV service in the UK that has a full version... [Read More...]
BBC to open iPlayer technology to third parties
The BBC will open the iPlayer to third party broadcasters to allow them to create their own versions of the video-on-demand platform, the Corporation has announced. Speaking at media technology conference IBC 2009 in Amsterdam, BBC director of future media and technology, Eric Huggers, said the BBC was looking at how it could work with international broadcasters. Until now the iPlayer has been exclusively for BBC content. However, according to Huggers,... [Read More...]
Teens to the Beeb: give us a mobile iPlayer (and make it cheap, too)
A mobile version of the BBC iPlayer tops the wish list of teenage mobile phone users in the UK, but only if the price is right, according to a new study. A third of UK teens want to catch up with BBC programmes on their phones, but don’t want to incur heavy bandwidth tariffs associated with streaming content, says new research from mobile industry analyst CSS Insight. This presents a challenge to mobile operators, the study said, which face... [Read More...]
BBC iPlayer to offer HD TV content
The BBC iPlayer is expanding its offering with the addition of high-definition TV content from its BBC HD TV channel. The free-to-air channel BBC HD is already available on satellite and cable-TV platforms, and features a range of shows from the BBC channels. Programmes available to watch on the HD channel include Doctor Who, Dragons’ Den, The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin and Moving On. The iPlayer’s cross-platform download manager... [Read More...]