BBC Reports Record Use For iPlayer From PS3 Users

The BBC has reported a record number of requests for individual TV programs through its online, on-demand iPlayer service, including record usage from PlayStation 3 users. In December, PS3 owners loaded 7 million distinct programs from the service, the BBC's iStats reports, dwarfing the number of requests from Wii users. The number of PS3 program requests was up 31 percent from November, and up approximately 40 percent from December 2009. Despite the increase in raw usage, PS3 users represented just 5 percent of total iPlayer usage in the country, keeping with norms of 4 to 5 percent throughout 2010. PS3 users have had access to the BBC's iPlayer since late 2008, but PS3 usage of the service started picking up in September 2009, according to BBC statistics. The service has been less of a success on the Nintendo Wii, which has represented only a small sliver of total iPlayer usage since support for the system was announced in April 2008.