The BBC has revealed that itsiPlayer for iPadapp was downloaded almost 55,000 times in 24 hours, accounting for 55% of all programme requests made by users of Apple’s tablet device. The figures came as part of the BBC’s January performance report which saw the corporation break records in yet another month. In January, the BBC iPlayer platform received 162 requests for programmes and radio content, with Come Fly With Me topping the charts as the most popular programme during that period....

BBC Worldwide is taking its iPad video-on-demand service iPlayer global today, with launches in 11 Western European countries,The Guardian reports. The iPad iPlayer app launched in the UK in February. The US, Canadian and Australian launches will follow before the year’s end. For now, users in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, The Republic of Ireland, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland will be able to access the app. The program’s launch director, Mark Smith, told The Guardian that this is a video-on-demand service rather than a catch-up service, offering viewers access to popular shows like Top Gear and Doctor Who, but also bringing to the surface much of the forgotten content the BBC has developed over the decades....

The BBC is to start rolling out its iPlayer service to international audiences later this year, but it will be available to iPad owners only at first. Asreportedin the Guardian today, fans of BBC programmes such as Fawlty Towers and Doctor Who in western Europe will be able to pay the equivalent of around £6 per month, though the final figure is yet to be settled. Wereportedlate last year that a subscription-based model would be available abroad at some point on the iPad, and now a launch could be a couple of months away....

The BBC hasjust announcedthat it has put live new features within itsiPlayerplatform that allows five broadcasters to offer their content via the BBC’s online service. The five partners were announced back in May and include ITV, Channel 4, Five, SeeSaw.com and S4C. The BBC have also partnered with MSN Video Player, offering all partner programming direct from its website. Users can use a “Schedule Widget” or a search function to find content on the website, which links directly to the playback page from one of the BBC partners’ websites....

The long-awaited international version of the BBC’siPlayeris on track for this year and at a bargain price too, it seems. Speaking at the FTDigital Media & Broadcasting Conferencein London today, the BBC’s Director General, Mark Thompson confirmed that the video on demand service, which is free to use within the UK, will be available for a charge of “A few dollars a month – less than $10”. While the iPlayer is available as a browser-based service and on games consoles, as well as via iPad and Android apps, in the UK, it wasreportedin December that the international launch could well be iPad only....