BBC iPlayer growth continues as bbc.co.uk records 29% increase

Number of programmes downloaded or streamed on demand via BBC iPlayer reaches 17 million, up to 500,000 a day; BBC-branded entertainment channels showing clips on Yahoo! with Blinkx and MSN to follow soon

Over 17 million programmes have been streamed or downloaded on demand on BBC iPlayer in the first seven weeks since its marketing launch, according to the latest figures from the BBC.

Daily volumes have been increasing strongly during January and February and last week the total number of streams and downloads in a single day broke through the half a million barrier.

During January, more than 2.2 million people watched a programme on BBC iPlayer, with approximately 11 million TV programmes streamed or downloaded on demand.

This complements the 15.9 million radio downloads during January (rising from 13.4 million in December) and totalling 27 million requests for TV and radio programmes.

The research reveals that the number of visitors to the whole of bbc.co.uk has increased by over a quarter in the past year.

There was an average of 20 million UK visitors weekly to bbc.co.uk across January, marking an increase of 29% on the corresponding period in 2007, driven chiefly by BBC iPlayer (accounting for up to 1.3 million unique visitors weekly), news, sport and weather.

Programmes which performed particularly well on BBC iPlayer include Ashes To Ashes, coverage of the Six Nations clash between England and Wales and Life In Cold Blood.

Ashley Highfield, Director of BBC Future Media and Technology, says: “While it’s still early days, early indications are that BBC iPlayer is having a significant effect in attracting new users to bbc.co.uk.

“To build on this initial success, we continue to reach out to audiences wherever they are, and we now have BBC-branded ‘channels’ on Yahoo! and partnerships with MSN and Blinkx going live soon.

“These enable you to watch highlights and excerpts of BBC programmes, as well as clicking on a link to watch the full programme on BBC iPlayer.

“In addition, we are introducing new features on the BBC iPlayer homepage, including improved navigation options and programme recommendations.”