Reportr.net

Image via WikipediaThe BBC’s iPlayer has proved a huge success in Britain, as well as a source of controversy.

In March 2008, more than 17.2 million requests to download or stream BBC programmes were made via the iPlayer.

So perhaps it was worth the £6 million it has cost to develop. The figure emerged in a Freedom of Information request.

As far as I can tell, this is the first time the BBC has put an official figure on the cost of the iPlayer.

The reply from the BBC (PDF) provides some details on the development of the iPlayer:

The basic BBC iPlayer (then called myBBCplayer) trial completed in June 2006. During June 2006 – November 2006 the BBC iPlayer Beta was developed with very limited functionality & user access. On November 14th 2006 BBC launched a limited user access version. Then during November 2006 to July 2007 the BBC developed the beta version of the BBC iPlayer with a walled garden access. In July 27 2007 the BBC iPlayer Beta was aunched.

This timeline ignores the earlier work that went into the project when it was known as the integrated Media Player and tested by several thousand people. And some estimates have put the cost of the four-year project at around £72m.

The information was obtained via the WhatDoTheyKnow site, which offers an easy way to submit Freedom of Information requests in the UK.

It is the brainchild of the pioneering e-democracy group, MySociety. It is in beta but it offers a powerful tool to seek answers from the British authorities.