iPlayer figures reveal changing viewing habits

Smart phones and tablets are not just changing the way we read! New figures released this month show the growing popularity of watching television on mobile devices, helping the BBC iPlayer hit record-breaking numbers of downloads.

This reflects both the growing penetration of internet-connected devices in the market, and the near-universal availability of BBC iPlayer on those devices. Researchers say a third of us now prefer to watch TV on our mobile devices than on the box. At this rate, the figures will soon match those for people who now prefer to read eBooks rather than paper books.

The Olympic ceremony topped iPlayer viewing last year, followed by Top Gear, Sherlock and Dr Who. There were almost 14 million downloads of the iPlayer mobile app, with 300,000 downloads on Christmas Day alone to devices such as the Nexus 7, iPad and Kindle Fire HD.