iPlayer usage stays flat

BBC iPlayer usage for May was flat month-on-month, with the breakdown of usage across PCs, mobiles, tablets and connected TVs also consistent with the figures for April.

BBC iPlayer, the UK public broadcaster’s catch-up service, recorded 257 million requests for the month, the same number as April. Average daily requests numbered eight million.

The number of people accessing radio via the iPlayer has continued to grow, with a record 76 million requests in May.

Doctor Who, The Apprentice and The Voice dominated the top 10 TV shows for May, with Waterloo Road and Russell Howard’s Good News following closely behind.

The figures appear to confirm a flattening of iPlayer usage month-on-month after the huge jump in usage recorded in January this year, when the monthly number of plays rocketed to 272 million from 217 million in December.

The breakdown of usage across different device types was almost identical with that in April, with 47% accessing the service via TV, 15% each accessing it via tablets and other mobile devices, and 11% accessing via TV platform operators.

The numbers accessing iPlayer via games consoles and connected TVs were also in line with April’s figures at 3% and 2% respectively.