BBC iPlayer has recorded remarkable year on year growth and is outstripping all its competitors across all audiences. The British service is up over 20% this year so far. BBC iPlayer’s viewing growth is twice that of Netflix, three times ITVX and four times that of Channel 4.
The streamer recorded high levels of people coming to the platform this summer, which has grown 10% on the same time last year. Live events during summer generated over 350 million requests. BBC iPlayer has brought content from “Gladiators” and “The Traitors” to “The Apprentice,” “Race Across the World,” “Doctor Who,” “EastEnders” and “The Jetty” to the big live events including the General Election, Glastonbury and the summer of sport with the Euros, Wimbledon and the Olympics.
Last year, the BBC spent more on British content than any other commissioner, £1 billion of original TV content; and invested more than 60% of its TV budget outside of London supporting more UK TV production companies and suppliers than anyone else, a total of 326 last year. It commissioned over 4,000 hours of originations (excluding News and Sport) in 2023.
BBC’s Chief Content Officer Charlotte Moore said: “Our digital transformation strategy is working. The BBC has grown market share, gaining against the global streamers as well as our UK competitors. BBC iPlayer has had another record-breaking year and its incredible growth story is a clear signal that we are offering audiences uniquely British content they really value.”
Moore concluded: “This is a success story for UK creativity because as the biggest investor in UK producers, talent and skills the value from our spend is retained in the UK and benefits the long-term sustainability of our world-class sector. In a competitive global market BBC iPlayer stands out as the home of distinctive British content – made here, authentically told and universally available to all.”