Mystery drama Vigil, Euro 2020 and the Tokyo Olympics helped BBC iPlayer to record third-quarter viewing figures, the corporation has revealed.
From July to September the service recorded a 20% year-on-year increase in usage, with some 1.5 billion streams of programming.
The single most-watched programme on iPlayer was episode one of Vigil, which was requested 6.78m times - a figure that has risen to 7.7m since the end of September.
The final of Euro 2020 between England and Italy had 6.03m streams, with 22.89m total streams for coverage in the period and a mammoth 75.9m streams of video content via iPlayer and BBC Sport across the entire tournament.
EastEnders, which premiered on iPlayer as boxsets during Euro 2020 and the Olympics, drew a total of 74.15m streams over the three months.
That aggregate figure was only exceeded by the BBC's coverage of the delayed Tokyo 2020 Games, which drew 90.16m streams.
"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," said Dan McGolpin, director of iPlayer.
"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."
In Full: iPlayer's top 10 programmes, July - September 2021
1. Olympics - 90.16m
2. EastEnders - 74.15m
3. Vigil - 26.57m
4. Silent Witness - 23.24m
5. Euro 2020 - 22.89m
6. Baptiste - 19.23m
7. Celebrity MasterChef - 17.36m
8. Wimbledon - 16.88m
9. Ghosts - 15.09m
10. Gossip Girl (original series) - 12.00m
Neil Wilkes
Follow us on Bluesky or on X/Twitter and like us on Facebook for the latest entertainment news alerts.
Media Mole's Lowest Ever Sky Offer: Get Sky Essential, Sky Stream & Netflix for just £15 a month + £0 upfront fee for 24 months!
Prices may change during this period. Ends March 19, 2025
