BBC iPlayer breaks records as Peaky Blinders tops 2022 list

The Tourist, Doctor Who and the football World Cup were among the other big winners of 2022 on iPlayer.

By James Hibbs

Published: Tuesday, 31 January 2023 at 12:00 am

BBC iPlayer recorded its best ever year in 2022, breaking 7 billion streams for the first time, while a round-up of the most-watched shows of the year has also been released.

In 2022, the platform’s viewership grew 9 per cent on 2021, with 2 billion streams between October and December – in part buoyed by the FIFA World Cup, which was streamed 92 million times on iPlayer.

When it came to individual episodes, Peaky Blinders topped the list for 2022 with the first episode of season 6, Black Day, which was streamed 6.9 million times across the year. This was followed up by episodes of The Tourist, The Responder, and the England vs Iran match at the football World Cup.

More highly-watched single programmes included the premiere of SAS Rogue Heroes, the State Funeral of HM Queen Elizabeth II, and the premiere episodes of Inside Man, The Apprentice, Sherwood and This Is Going to Hurt.

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Argentina lift the World Cup at Qatar 2022.
Richard Sellers/Getty Images

Meanwhile, EastEnders saw its best year ever on iPlayer, with the soap being streamed 366 million times.

When it came to the most-watched full programmes for the year, excluding continuing series like EastEnders, news and children’s content, the list of the top 10 most-viewed was as followed:

  1. FIFA World Cup 2022 – 92.3 million
  2. Doctor Who – 56.1 million
  3. Peaky Blinders – 55.6 million
  4. Commonwealth Games – 52.8 million
  5. Waterloo Road (2006-15) – 46.4 million
  6. Death in Paradise – 46.1 million
  7. Strictly Come Dancing – 44.9 million
  8. Silent Witness – 44.7 million
  9. Wimbledon – 42.7 million
  10. Match of the Day – 40.5 million

Director of BBC iPlayer Dan McGolpin said: “2022 saw huge growth for BBC iPlayer – 7 billion streams is double where we were a few years ago.”

He continued: “Alongside the big events like the World Cup and the outstanding coverage of the state funeral for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, people arrived in their millions to watch an array of big drama boxsets including the final series of Peaky Blinders and a large number of brand new series such as The Tourist, The Responder and SAS Rogue Heroes.

“Over the last year we’ve added more choice than ever before in every genre, with plenty more in store for 2023.”

The BBC previously released a list of its most-watched dramas of 2022, with The Tourist topping that list.