BBC's iPlayer signs up 120k beta testers in its first week

Web 2.0
Share

bbc-iplayer-firstweek.jpgAccording to the BBC, 120,000 people downloaded its iPlayer TV catch-up application in its first week of beta testing, with 105,000 of those activating it. That’s impressive figures, although as a sour grapes merchant, I wonder how many people would’ve downloaded iPlayer if it worked on a wider range of computers.

Still, the Beeb reckons that it’ll sign up 500,000 users in its first six months, and by 2011 thinks iPlayer could be responsible for 11% of “catch-up and simulcast TV viewing”. Where they got that prediction from is anybody’s guess, of course.

But the most interesting thing in Media Guardian’s report on the iPlayer figures is buried right at the end, in a quote from VeriSign which powers the application. Apparently, over time the iPlayer could be modified to “allow users to embed video”. Intriguing…

BBC iPlayer website (via Media Guardian)

Related posts
Opinion: BBC iPlayer’s platform restrictions are a joke
BBC extends iPlayer beta trial to wider public
Is the BBC really porting its iPlayer to iPhone?

Stuart Dredge
For latest tech stories go to TechDigest.tv