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BBC iPlayer claims strong viewership for 2012
MUMBAI: BBC has announced that its on-demand service BBC iPlayer saw 2.32 billion TV and radio programme requests and 36.5 billion minutes of BBC programmes enjoyed across all platforms in iPlayer last year.
Audiences spent 34 per cent more time watching TV in iPlayer than ever before. Danny Boyle’s Olympic Opening Ceremony topped iPlayer viewing in 2012 with 3.3 million requests, followed by Top Gear with 2.8 million and Sherlock with 2.5 million requests.
The biggest trend in 2012 was the huge growth in iPlayer requests from mobiles and tablets. By the end of last year, the BBC saw:
- a 177 per cent increase year on year of requests from mobiles and tablets – making up over a quarter of total iPlayer requests
- nearly 14 million downloads of the iPlayer mobile app, with 300,000 downloads on Christmas Day to devices such as the Nexus 7, iPad and Kindle Fire HD
- 10.8 million BBC TV programmes downloaded to iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch devices, following the launch of mobile downloads in September 2012. Downloaded programmes already make up 6% of TV viewing on mobiles and tablets
Other 2012 trends showed that for the first time in iPlayer’s history, requests from PCs comprised less than half of all total iPlayer requests (47 per cent) in December 2012 alone. Live Restart – a new feature allowing viewers to rewind and restart live TV without waiting for the programme to end – was used by up to 30 per cent of those watching live TV online.
Mobile downloads made the daily commute less tiresome, with the majority of viewers downloading programmes at 10 pm and watching them on the way to and from work at 7.30 am and 5.30 pm. Finally, the launch of iPlayer on Xbox and Sky now means more UK households than ever can enjoy watching BBC iPlayer on their living room TV.
Top iPlayer programmes in 2012 included ‘Top Gear’, which made up eight of the top 20 programmes. The London 2012 Olympic Opening and Closing Ceremonies, ’Sherlock’, ‘The Apprentice’, ‘Doctor Who’, ‘The Voice UK’ and BBC One’s new comedy ‘Citizen Khan’ all made up the rest of the iPlayer top 20. The top three radio programmes on iPlayer in 2012 were Jay-Z live at Radio 1’s Hackney Weekend, Wallace and Gromit at the Proms and Rihanna live at Radio 1’s Hackney Weekend.
December continued to be the most popular month for iPlayer, with a record 217 million requests for TV and radio programmes – a 23 per cent increase over 2011. Festive TV specials such as ‘Doctor Who – The Snowmen’, ‘EastEnders’ and ‘Miranda’ were the most popular programmes throughout the month. Other top performing programmes were ‘Outnumbered’, ‘Call The Midwife’ and ‘Merlin’.
2013 has already had a strong start, with 6,732 million requests for TV programmes on January 1 alone, the most requests ever seen in 24 hours.
BBC programmes on-demand general manager Daniel Danker said: “2012 was a ground-breaking year for BBC iPlayer with a record 2.32 billion requests for programmes across over 650 platforms. Last year, the use of iPlayer shifted from PCs and early adopter devices like game consoles to screens used by all audiences. Mobile, tablet, and connected TV skyrocketed, with a particular emphasis on audiences taking iPlayer on the go. This year, we’re looking forward to turning iPlayer into an entertainment destination, with a relentless focus on making iPlayer as easy and enjoyable as television.”
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With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
