BBC's iPlayer powers surge in online TV downloads

by Jacquie Bowser Brand Republic 06-Feb-08, 11:00

LONDON - Internet users in the UK are expected to download 1.5bn online TV programmes during 2008, according to a report, which says the market has been boosted by the arrival of the BBC iPlayer.

By 2012, online TV streams and downloads are forecast to hit 2.8bn, according to the report by media analyst firm Screen Digest.

Screen Digest was prompted to revise its forecast for free-to-view TV consumption after a surge in usage of the BBC's iPlayer catch-up service.

The media analyst reported that UK broadband households initiated 0.8bn free-to-view online TV streams and downloads, including TV shows, sports and niche programming, during 2007 and 38% of these were from the bbc.co.uk domain.

However, Screen Digest predicts that UK free-to-view online TV revenues will remain unchanged, going from £19m in 2007 to £98m in 2012, due to the dominance of the BBC's services and lack of clear strategies from commercial broadcasters.

Screen Digest suggestS that there are two major factors that determine a successful free online video proposition for broadcasters - browser-based open access delivery and flash-based streaming.

The BBC switched its iPlayer service to an open access web-streaming model last year, which gave the public broadcaster a significant uplift in online viewers.

However, application-based strategies used by some UK broadcasters, which require users to download a heavy proprietary application before being able to access content, has so far created an unnecessary barrier for consumers and hampered market growth, according to Screen Digest.

Arash Amel, senior analyst at Screen Digest, said: "Our long-term financial outlook of the UK online TV sector will now be dependant on the future development of convincing platform strategies by UK commercial broadcasters ITV, Channel Four and Five, as well as new entrants such as Bebo, MySpace, YouTube and Joost.

"It is expected that the success of the BBC's iPlayer open web streaming model, and future 'viral syndication' strategies, will encourage UK commercial broadcasters to enter a long-term reassessment of how they deliver programming to users."

Last month it was revealed that the Christmas special episode of 'Doctor Who' was the most viewed programme on the BBC's iPlayer followed by the Christmas special of the Ricky Gervais comedy 'Extras', with 'Top Gear' in third.

Ashley Highfield, director of BBC Future Media and Technology, said: "Typically, people who use the BBC iPlayer are spending nearly half an hour a day watching streams of their favourite programmes, suggesting that it looks set to revolutionise the way BBC Television programmes are viewed in the UK."