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BBC iPlayer had its biggest day ever on New Year’s Day, with Doctor Who and Eastenders leading nearly 11 million TV and radio shows enjoyed — more than a third more than New Year’s Day last year.
Doctor Who Christmas episode The Time of the Doctor, in which Matt Smith regenerated into new Time Lord Peter Capaldi, had the most viewers streaming to their PCs, phones and tablets — with tablets overtaking PCs for the first time.
Tablets made the leap over their PC brethren on Boxing Day, perhaps driven by those visiting family settling in to catch up on the telly they’d missed while preoccupied with turkey, Bailey’s, and deep-seated grudge-settling Scrabble battles. The iPlayer app also saw a surge in downloads on Boxing Day, presumably as lucky folk got to grips with their newly-unwrapped gifted gadgets.
Multiple installments of Eastenders did boffo business, with Gangsta Granny and Call the Midwife also topping a million viewings — but still beaten by Mrs Brown’s Boys. No accounting for taste, I guess.
One name missing from the list is Sherlock, which only returned on New Year’s Day. Doctor Who is a clear hit for online viewers, as it’s also the most popular British show on Netflix.
Has iPlayer changed the way you watch telly? What was your highlight of festive telly? Tell me your thoughts in the comments or on our Facebook page.
