14 DAY TRIAL // Almost 160 thousand downloads per day on average were recorded by the BBC site ever since it launched its video-on-demand service on Christmas day. Doing the math (22 days multiplied by 160 thousand downloads makes.. I need a calculator for this one? there it is, more than 3.5 million) you'll see that it was wildly successful and deservedly so, I might add.
The reason it had the numbers written above is the unique approach to video streaming that it undertook, giving its users the option to download programming from the last seven days for free. The top programmes that were accessed using the iPlayer were "The Doctor Who" Christmas Special, the "Extras" Christmas Special, "Top Gear," "The Catherine Tate Christmas Show" and the Christmas Day edition of "EastEnders."
"The technology and concept involved with the iPlayer could be the starting point to a fundamental change in the way content is consumed," Ashley Highfield, the Director of BBC Future Media and Technology, told Webuser.com.
"Typically, people who use the BBC iPlayer are spending nearly half an hour a day watching streams of their favourite programmes, suggesting that it looks set to revolutionize the way BBC television programmes are viewed in the UK," he followed.
One of the advantages of using the BBC player is that many audience members are now able to watch the programmes they normally couldn't because of their schedule by simply recording them and seeing them whenever they have some spare time.
The iPlayer was not without controversy when it first appeared. The fact that it was launched only for Windows upset those who were not fans of the MS operating system. The recent work that has been done in the direction of making it compatible with other OSs seems to have cooled down everybody, so they are all now one big happy streaming family.