Apple iPad use fuels BBC iPlayer growth

The BBC is reporting huge growth in the popularity of its iPlayer service, as the number of people accessing on-demand TV over the internet soars, particularly from device such as the iPad.

According to newly-published iPlayer usage figures, monthly requests for TV programmes went up from 85 million in April 2011 to 118 million in April 2012 – a 39 per cent increase.

The number of people using a tablet to access the service has also risen sharply over the past year, with eight per cent of all requests for TV programmes being made by tablet users, up from two per cent a year ago. The BBC has also claimed that its iPlayer app for Apple's iconic iPad has become the most downloaded free app in the UK.

There is also some good news in the figures for British business leaders: according to the BBC, people tend to use iPlayer at the same times of day as they would normally watch broadcast programmes, suggesting that iPlayer isn't harming productivity through workers catching up on EastEnders on the sly.

“BBC iPlayer is used for TV at roughly the same time of day as linear TV viewing, although there is proportionally more daytime and late-peak use,” the BBC said in its iPlayer report [PDF].

That said, with massive sporting events such as the Euro 2012 and the London Olympics taking place this summer, IT chiefs may want to keep a close eye on iPlayer use in the enterprise.