Tablets boost BBC online viewership

Tablet computers, along with smartphones and internet-connected TVs, have pushed BBC viewership and listenership to new levels, breaking records of online program requests across platforms in 2011.

According to the British news provider, BBC iPlayer users requested more than 1.9 billion TV and radio programs last year using their mobile devices and internet-connected TVs. The iPlayer is an application that allows users to download and watch or listen to BBC programs on their web-enabled devices.

In December, tablet computers accounted for 10 million of the 187 million monthly iPlayer requests. This represents a 596 percent increase from a year earlier, the BBC reports. Requested programs on connected TVs reached 7 million, good for a year-over-year increase of more than 1,000 percent.

"While 2011 was a remarkable year for BBC iPlayer across the board, the real story was growth of iPlayer on TVs, mobile phones and tablets, outpacing PC growth many times over," says Daniel Danker, BBC general manager of Programmes and on Demand.

Several studies have noted how the tablet has changed the way people consume media. From TV programs and the news to video games and music, the tablet's impact on our daily lives continues to grow.