BBC iPlayer is now fastest growing VOD platform in the UK

BBC iPlayer has recorded remarkable year on year growth and is outstripping all its competitors across all audiences – powered by creativity and storytelling from across the UK.

The truly distinctive British service continues to break records – 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 unique range available to audiences on BBC iPlayer provides a breadth of content and experiences they can’t find anywhere else. This is underlined by the record levels of people coming to iPlayer this summer, which has grown 10% on the same time last year. Our summer of live events generated over 350 million requests.

The successes can be seen across every month in 2024 so far. BBC iPlayer has brought people together for unmissable 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 to the incredible summer of sport with the Euros, Wimbledon and the Olympics.

Backing British storytelling and talent has ensured BBC iPlayer stands out from the crowd. It offers an unrivalled depth and diversity across genre as audiences crave more authentic British stories like recent documentaries on Sarah Everard, Liz Carr’s Better off Dead, Freddie Flintoff’s Field of Dreams and The Met and new comedy hits like Daddy Issues, Mammoth and We Might Regret This.

The BBC’s unwavering commitment to nurture and support the UK creative industries is unmatched. 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. We commissioned over 4,000 hours of originations (excluding News and Sport) in 2023.

BBC’s Chief Content Officer Charlotte Moore says: “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.

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.” BBC