iPlayer ups FTV online
February 7, 2008
A surge in usage for the BBC's iPlayer catch-up service has prompted analysts to revise upwards forecasts for free-to-view (FTV) TV consumption in the UK. Screen Digest reports that 0.8 billion free-to-view online TV streams and downloads including TV shows, sports and niche programming were initiated by UK broadband households in 2007. This is now expected to rise to 1.5 billion in 2008, and forecast to hit 2.8 billion by 2012. Analysis of comScore consumption data indicates that video streams initiated via the BBC domain, including the iPlayer, accounted for 38 per cent of total UK FTV streams and downloads in 2007.
UK FTV online TV revenues forecasts remain unchanged, going from £19 million (E25.5m) in 2007 to £98 million in 2012. This is due to the dominance of the BBC's services, and lack of clear strategies from commercial broadcasters.