The BBC has defending its on-demand streaming service, after BBC iPlayer usage fell for the third consecutive month.
The catch-up service recorded 271 million TV and radio programming requests during April.
Despite easily outstripping rival services such as ITV Player and All 4, the Beeb’s impressive iPlayer figures were down on the 278 million content requests placing during Mach and the 299 million requests in February.
The much loved service has been on a steady slide since breaking records over the holiday period, racking up a staggering 343 million content requests in December alone.
Looking to stem concern in the service’s decreasing figures in a time of increased competition from the likes of Sky Go, Netflix and Amazon Prime Instant Video, Dan Taylor-Watt, the BBC’s iPlayer chief, has suggested the slump is nothing more than a seasonal cycle.
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“Also, as the majority of iPlayer consumption is still catch-up TV, there is a strong link between what’s broadcast on ‘telly’ and programmes requested on iPlayer.”
Taylor-Watt also highlighted how, despite recent monthly decreases, BBC iPlayer continues to see general growth, having risen from less than 1 billion annual requests in 2009 to more than 2.5 billion in the year ending March 31.
“Even though the iPlayer continues to grow it won’t be at such a rapid pace,” he stated. “The market has also changed significantly since iPlayer launched, with a host of new video-on-demand services now available in the UK.
“What is remarkable is how the iPlayer has not just maintained but continued to grow its usage with the increasing number of video-on-demand services.”
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Peter Kay’s Car Share was the most viewed show on iPlayer in April with the debut episode recording an impressive 1.5 million requests.
The show’s first series saw some 3.5 million requests in total and was closely followed by Poldark and Eastenders.
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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.
