New figures from the BBC have revealed iPlayer viewers and listeners are now enjoying more shows on tablet devices like the iPad and Google Nexus 7 than smartphones for the first time.
Of the 272 million full length programme requests in March 2013, 41 million were accounted for through tablets, while 40 million came from smartphones.
The difference in viewership was only 200,000, but the changing of the guard is definitely significant as more and more folks in the UK jump on board with tablets.
Naturally, most of the requests are still coming from laptops or PCs (128 million in March), but only 47 per cent of views are coming on those devices now, compared with 59 per cent just one year ago.
The transition suggests that more people will soon be watching the likes of Top Gear, Dr Who and Eastenders on mobile devices as opposed to traditional desktop platforms.
Making up the 272 million, 32 million requests came from TV platform operators, 8 million from games console apps and 5 million through connected TV apps. 17 million came from an unknown source.
Overall, the Beeb enjoyed average daily requests of 8.1 million while it posted a record 60 million requests in the second week of March.
The BBC has said it plans to boost iPlayer viewership by airing first run, original content on the platform before it appears on traditional broadcast TV.
The company faces increased competition for eyes and ears from on-demand services like Lovefilm, Netflix and, of course, Sky Go, but appears to be coping well by continuing to post record numbers each month.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
