Sherlock, Top Gear and Murdered By My Boyfriend drive record-breaking 2014 on BBC iPlayer
BBC iPlayer and BBC iPlayer Radio saw a record-breaking 3.5bn TV and radio programme requests in 2014 – up from 3.1bn in 2013, with over 2.6bn TV requests and over 860m radio requests across all devices.
Published: 21 January 2015
Really thrilling to see Sherlock at the very top of the iPlayer ratings. We always knew he’d survive jumping off that building, but we never thought he’d fly so high!
The much-anticipated return of Sherlock was the most popular programme, with 4.2m requests, followed by Top Gear (Series 21) with 3.8m requests and BBC Three's critically acclaimed film Murdered By My Boyfriend with 3m requests. On radio, cricket dominated, with Test Match Special of England versus India on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra topping the table with 312,500 requests, followed by coverage of Manchester United versus Manchester City with 295,300 requests and Carl Froch take on George Groves in the ring with 219,800 requests.
Mobile and tablet continued to dominate iPlayer growth, with a 51 per cent increase in requests from tablets (801m requests in 2014) and 32 per cent increase in requests year on year from mobiles (662m requests in 2014). BBC iPlayer also saw increasing demand to watch iPlayer TV programmes on the biggest screen in the house, with a 13% year-on-year increase in requests from Connected TVs (626m requests in 2014).
While Sherlock and Top Gear dominated top programme requests across all devices including computers, other programmes performed particularly well on mobile, tablet and Connected TV.
- On mobile, BBC Three’s Murdered By My Boyfriend topped the chart for 2014, with 1.1m requests on mobiles alone
- On tablet, the last series of Outnumbered made the top three with over 1m requests, only just behind Sherlock and Top Gear
- On Connected TV, tense thriller The Missing topped the bill with 1.22m requests followed closely by critically acclaimed drama Happy Valley with 1.16m requests
Building on the success of 2013, 2014 saw BBC iPlayer bring more exclusive content to viewers and attract fans in their millions. BBC iPlayer exclusive Original Comedy Shorts starring comedians including Bob Mortimer, Meera Syal and Matt Berry attracted 1.9m requests; Original Drama shorts Tag, Flea and My Jihad attracted 1.2m requests; and one-off comedy event Frankie Boyle’s Referendum Autopsy attracted 715,100 requests.
Co-Creators of Sherlock Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss say: “Really thrilling to see Sherlock at the very top of the iPlayer ratings. We always knew he’d survive jumping off that building, but we never thought he’d fly so high!”
Ralph Rivera, Director of BBC Future Media says: “BBC iPlayer is one of the BBC’s greatest inventions, pioneering on-demand viewing and listening for all audiences in the UK. 2014 was a great year for iPlayer – with a record-breaking 3.5bn programme requests, a brand-new version of iPlayer launched and the extension of the catch-up window from seven to 30 days. We’re looking forward to bringing fans even more in 2015.”
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BBC iPlayer 2014 in numbers
Top 20 TV episodes
Programme | Episode | Total Requests |
Sherlock Series 3 | The Empty Hearse Episode 1 | 4,186,900 |
Top Gear Series 21 | Episode 1 | 3,809,400 |
Top Gear Series 21 | Episode 3 | 3,417,800 |
Top Gear Series 21 | Burma Special - Part 1 Episode 6 | 3,341,400 |
Sherlock Series 3 | The Sign of Three Episode 2 | 3,329,000 |
Sherlock Series 3 | His Last Vow Episode 3 | 3,209,300 |
Top Gear Series 21 | Episode 2 | 3,085,100 |
Murdered by My Boyfriend | 23/06/2014 | 3,022,400 |
Outnumbered Series 5 | Episode 1 | 2,859,600 |
Doctor Who Series 8 | Deep Breath Episode 1 | 2,804,500 |
Top Gear Series 21 | Burma Special - Part 2 Episode 7 | 2,797,700 |
Top Gear Series 21 | Episode 4 | 2,547,500 |
Top Gear Series 21 | Episode 5 | 2,464,300 |
The Great British Bake Off Series 5 | Cake Episode 1 | 2,312,800 |
Top Gear | Patagonia Special, Part 1 27/12/2014 | 2,285,700 |
Outnumbered Series 5 | Episode 2 | 2,240,100 |
Outnumbered Series 5 | Episode 3 | 2,170,800 |
The Apprentice Series 10 | Online Video Channel Episode 4 | 2,085,900 |
The Apprentice Series 10 | Advertising - New York Episode 7 | 2,070,600 |
Outnumbered Series 5 | Episode 4 | 2,070,200 |
Top 20 TV episodes – best-performing episode per series
Programme | Episode | Total Requests |
Sherlock Series 3 | The Empty Hearse Episode 1 | 4,186,900 |
Top Gear Series 21 | Episode 1 | 3,809,400 |
Murdered by My Boyfriend | 23/06/2014 | 3,022,400 |
Outnumbered Series 5 | Episode 1 | 2,859,600 |
Doctor Who Series 8 | Deep Breath Episode 1 | 2,804,500 |
The Great British Bake Off Series 5 | Cake Episode 1 | 2,312,800 |
The Apprentice Series 10 | Online Video Channel Episode 4 | 2,085,900 |
The Voice UK Series 3 | Blind Auditions 1 Episode 1 | 2,027,700 |
The Missing | Episode 1 | 2,005,500 |
Happy Valley | Episode 1 | 1,983,100 |
Gnomeo & Juliet | 09/12/2011 | 1,913,000 |
Bad Education Series 3 | Strike | 1,825,700 |
Our Girl Series 1 | Episode 1 | 1,799,000 |
Ja'mie: Private School Girl | Episode 1 | 1,753,600 |
Waterloo Road Series 9 | Episode 11 | 1,730,500 |
EastEnders | 25/12/2014 | 1,729,200 |
The Dumping Ground Series 2 | Endurance Episode 7 | 1,699,600 |
The Musketeers | Episode 1 | 1,694,100 |
Life and Death Row | Execution Episode 1 | 1,642,900 |
The Honourable Woman | The Empty Chair Episode 1 | 1,614,900 |
Top 20 radio episodes
Programme | Episode | Total Requests |
Test Match Special | England v India - Day One 07/08/2014 | 312,500 |
5 live Sport Premier League Football 2013-14 | Manchester United v Manchester City 25/03/2014 | 295,300 |
Test Match Special | England v India - Day One 15/08/2014 | 267,000 |
Test Match Special | England v India - Day Four 30/07/2014 | 265,400 |
Test Match Special | England v India - Day Three 29/07/2014 | 240,900 |
Test Match Special | England v India - Day Two 28/07/2014 | 230,400 |
Test Match Special | England v India - Day Four 12/07/2014 | 229,500 |
Test Match Special | England v India - Day Three 09/08/2014 | 224,800 |
5 live Sport 5 live Boxing | Froch v Groves 31/05/2014 | 219,800 |
Test Match Special | England v Sri Lanka - Day Four 23/06/2014 | 219,000 |
5 live Sport | 12/02/2014 | 218,000 |
The Ryder Cup 2014 | Day Three Singles 28/09/2014 | 217,400 |
Test Match Special | England v India - Day One 17/07/2014 | 211,500 |
I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue Series 62 | Episode 1 | 209,900 |
Test Match Special | England v Sri Lanka - Day Two 13/06/2014 | 209,400 |
5 live Sport Champions League Football 2013-14 | Bayern Munich v Manchester United 09/04/2014 | 206,100 |
Test Match Special | England v India - Day Two 18/07/2014 | 204,000 |
Test Match Special | England v Sri Lanka - Day Five 16/06/2014 | 203,800 |
5 live Sport Premier League Football 2013-14 | Liverpool v Arsenal 08/02/2014 | 197,600 |
Test Match Special | England v India - Day Two 08/08/2014 | 193,200 |
Top 20 radio episodes – best-performing episode per series
Programme | Episode | Total Requests |
Test Match Special | England v India - Day One 07/08/2014 | 312,500 |
5 live Sport Premier League Football 2013-14 | Manchester United v Manchester City 25/03/2014 | 295,300 |
5 live Sport 5 live Boxing | Froch v Groves 31/05/2014 | 219,800 |
5 live Sport | 12/02/2014 | 218,000 |
The Ryder Cup 2014 | Day Three Singles 28/09/2014 | 217,400 |
I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue Series 62 | Episode 1 | 209,900 |
5 live Sport Champions League Football 2013-14 | Bayern Munich v Manchester United 09/04/2014 | 206,100 |
The Chris Evans Breakfast Show | 25/06/2014 | 179,500 |
The Unbelievable Truth Series 12 | Episode 3 | 176,000 |
The Radio 1 Breakfast Show with Nick Grimshaw | The Best of the Nixtape! 31/12/2014 | 167,800 |
The News Quiz Series 85 | Episode 4 | 167,700 |
5 live Sport League Cup Football 2013-14 | Manchester United v Sunderland 22/01/2014 | 155,200 |
The Now Show Series 44 | Episode 6 | 151,600 |
5 live Sport FA Cup Football 2013-14 | Arsenal v Liverpool 16/02/2014 | 150,500 |
Today | 25/06/2014 | 139,100 |
Chain Reaction Series 9 | Kevin Bridges talks to Frankie Boyle Episode 2 | 127,000 |
Just a Minute Series 70 | Episode 8 | 126,700 |
World Cup Brazil 2014 | Uruguay v England 19/06/2014 | 123,900 |
Annie Mac | Even More Music Month Dance Party 26/09/2014 | 123,700 |
Cabin Pressure Series 4 | Vaduz Episode 3 | 121,400 |
