The BBC’s iPlayer service set a record in February, with four episodes of Top Gear attracting 9m views between them.
February was the iPlayer’s best month ever for requests to TV programmes, with an average of 8.6m a day. In total, 299m TV and radio programmes were streamed or downloaded in February, down on January’s record 343m due to the shorter month.
The figures highlight the huge popularity of Top Gear with viewers, and the tough task the corporation faces after its decision to drop presenter Jeremy Clarkson following his fracas with producer Oisin Tymon.
Four episodes of Top Gear took the first, second, third and fifth slots in the list of February’s most-viewed shows on the iPlayer.
The BBC played down the importance of Top Gear to the record iPlayer figures, insisting it had been driven by EastEnders.
EastEnders helped the catch-up TV service to a record for the week of 16 February, with the “flashback” episode in which Lucy Beale’s killer was revealed attracting some 2m plays.
The iPlayer statistics for March, which will be released at the beginning of next month, are likely to show a decline in viewing because only two episodes of Top Gear were broadcast that month before Clarkson was suspended.
The BBC was forced to “postpone” finishing filming and broadcasting the last three episodes of the series following Clarkson’s departure; the corporation has said that it aims to complete and air at least two of the final shows.
Top five BBC iPlayer TV shows in February
1. Top Gear series 22, episode 2 - 2.65m requests
2. Top Gear series 22, episode 3 - 2.34m
3. Top Gear series 22, episode 4 - 2.1m
4. EastEnders Flashback, 19 Feb - 2.02m
5. Top Gear series 22, episode 5 - 1.99m
