EastEnders on BBC iPlayer is more fun than MySpace

by Dean Evans at Friday 17th July, 2009 at 10:53 am [0 comments]

According the latest data from web analysts Hitwise, the BBC iPlayer has now steamed past MySpace to become the 20th most visited website in the UK.

Admittedly, MySpace is a fading web colossus. It’s no longer what Wired once called a “nonstop global block party of music, video, and hookups”.

But the BBC iPlayer’s numbers are yet another indicator of the growing popularity of TV catch-up services and video on demand in the modern digital home. ITV, Channel 4, Five and Sky all have their own iPlayer rivals.

As Hitwise points out, the BBC iPlayer “has been ahead of [MySpace] for three consecutive weeks now, and last week (w/e 11/07/09) it received 26% more UK Internet visits.”

With 13.3% of visits (based on Hitwise’s online video category), the BBC iPlayer is currently the second most popular online video site in the UK after YouTube (65.1% of visits).

“Last week was iPlayer’s busiest this year,” says Hitwise, “with market share of UK Internet visits equalling that of Christmas week.”

Hitwise data reveals that the top TV programmes people wanted to watch on the iPlayer site last week were: EastEnders, Torchwood and Top Gear.

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