BBC reveals iPlayer hits of 2019

The Beeb have revealed Killing Eve’s second series as iPlayer’s biggest series of the year.

The continuing battle between Eve and Villanelle achieved 40.4m requests, over 10m more than Line Of Duty. The police thriller came in at second place with 27.4m requests for its fifth series whilst a fifth outing of period crime drama Peaky Blinders garnered 26.6m requests.

Killing Eve’s first series also makes the top ten quite comfortably as people checked out the show to find out what all the fuss was about, with an impressive 22.3m requests in 2019. Both series of the spy thriller have a combined total of 105m requests. Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s other hit show this year, Fleabag, also features in the top ten.

“It’s been a huge year for BBC iPlayer – as well as record-breaking figures, it’s become an entertainment destination in its own right; and with approval for new programmes to be available for a minimum of 12 months, this will deliver real value for licence fee payers. In 2020 we will go even further to make it the best watch ever from binge-worthy series to the biggest live TV moments.” – Charlotte Moore, Director of Content, BBC

BBC iPlayer’s biggest series of the year are:

1- Killing Eve S2, 40,382,000
2 – Line of Duty S5, 27,394,000
3 -Peaky Blinders S5, 26,635,000
4 – Strictly Come Dancing S17, 23,850,000
5 – Killing Eve S1, 22,304,000
6 – Fleabag S2, 20,315,000
7 – The Apprentice S15, 19,933,000
8 – The Capture, 19,255,000
9 – MasterChef S15, 19,035,000
10 – Silent Witness S22, 18,118,000

For individual episodes, Line Of Duty’s return is currently in the number one spot, with 5.9m requests, just edging out Peaky Blinders, which has had 5.8m requests so far, and the first episode of Killing Eve 2 on 5.5m.

There were also plenty of unmissable sporting and music events across the year – the Wimbledon men’s singles final is the top live episode, with 1.6 million live stream requests, and Stormzy’s iconic Glastonbury headline set delivered 1.3m requests across both live and on-demand streams. The FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019 was another big success on iPlayer with 8.7m requests across the competition.

The Beeb further note that the online service continues to prove popular with younger audiences with almost a quarter of under 35-year-olds visiting it in any given week. RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, Jesy Nelson: Odd One Out, The Rap Game and Waterloo Road have proven popular amongst this demographic.

November marked the biggest ever month for iPlayer, with 439m requests. New fantasy drama His Dark Materials and landmark natural history series Seven Worlds, One Planet were the month’s biggest programmes, plus there were strong performances from Gold Digger, The Apprentice, and The War Of The Worlds.

“This year we’ve seen some of television’s most exciting shows return to BBC iPlayer, from Killing Eve to Line Of Duty and from Peaky Blinders to Fleabag, the number of programme requests we’ve received has been incredible. What’s also really satisfying is that brand new series such as The Capture, RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, His Dark Materials and Seven Worlds, One Planet have also generated large audiences. Together with our live event coverage, this year including Glastonbury, the Women’s World Cup and the General Election 2019, BBC iPlayer is a unique service that is going to get even bigger and better in 2020.” – Dan McGolpin, Controller of BBC iPlayer

Peaky Blinders, Killing Eve, The Capture, Fleabag, His Dark Materials, RuPaul’s Drag Race and Seven Worlds, One Planet are all available to watch now on iPlayer, alongside many other series. The above list excludes continuing series such as EastEnders and Holby City as well as children’s programming.