Submarine thriller Vigil and the Euro 2020 football final helped drive iPlayer to its best summer ratings on record, the BBC has announced.
During the 2021 third quarter, between July to September, programmes were streamed 1.5 billion times on the streaming service, up 20% on the same period last year.
The first episode of Vigil, a six-part drama series starring Suranne Jones as a police detective investigating a murder at sea, was iPlayer’s most streamed programme, excluding the news, with nearly 6.8 million streams during this period.
#Vigil is UK television’s most-watched new drama launch in three years
— BBC Press Office (@bbcpress) October 5, 2021
It was also the third most watched series overall on iPlayer from July to September, with more than 26.5 million streams.
The show, made by World Productions, the company behind Line Of Duty, was the highest rated new drama since Bodyguard, also made by World Productions, in 2018.
The UEFA Euro 2020 final on July 11, in which England lost to Italy on penalties, was a close second for most streamed programme with more than six million streams.
A documentary which explored the response from former President Bush in the hours immediately after the September 11 attacks, titled 9/11: Inside the President’s War Room, took third spot with almost 2.8 million streams.
Dan McGolpin, director of BBC iPlayer and channels, said: “These results show the fantastic breadth of content available for all on BBC iPlayer including the country’s biggest sporting moments, enthralling new drama series like Vigil and captivating documentaries like 9/11: Inside the President’s War Room.
“iPlayer has something for everyone and people are using it more than ever, viewing grew 20% year-on-year to our best Q3 on record and we are on track for our best ever year.”
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics was the most watched series on BBC iPlayer across the third quarter, excluding the news and children’s television, with more than 90 million streams.
EastEnders was the most popular soap opera series for the broadcaster, racking up more than 74 million streams across the three months.
The long-running BBC crime drama Silent Witness still remains a popular choice with viewers with the opening episode of its 24th series attracting more than two million streams.