BBC releases iPlayer boxsets
February 8, 2017
By Colin Mann
Hit Tom Hardy drama Taboo and psychological thriller Apple Tree Yard will become the first of a new run of boxsets on BBC iPlayer. All episodes of each show will remain on iPlayer until the last episode is broadcast. The full series will then be available to watch as a boxset for 30 days.
The shows have each proven to be a big success, with Taboo receiving over 3 million requests on BBC iPlayer for its first episode, on top of consolidated viewing figures of 7 million. Apple Tree Yard received 2 million requests on iPlayer for its first episode alone, on top of its consolidated viewing figures of 7 million.
Given this success, the BBC has decided to make them available in their entirety for viewers who have missed out – or who just want to watch again.
The announcement follows BBC Director-General Tony Hall’s January 2017 call for iPlayer to be reinvented to ensure it is the UK’s number one online TV service. Boxsets have featured on iPlayer before, but this is the first time some of the biggest prime time dramas have been available in their entirety for 30 days.
“Taboo and Apple Tree Yard have both been huge hits on TV and on BBC iPlayer,” noted Dan Taylor-Watt, Head of BBC iPlayer. “Now viewers will be able to enjoy them as full box sets – and we want to do the same for more shows in the future. It’s giving viewers what they want – and it’s just the start of what we can do to ensure BBC iPlayer is the UK’s number one online TV service.”
The full eight-episode boxset of Taboo will be available from 25th February. The full four-episode boxset of Apple Tree Yard is now available.
The BBC intends to make more content available on BBC iPlayer for longer – enabling audiences to watch more – of what they love, whenever and however they want. More boxsets will be coming to BBC iPlayer in due course.