Tablets overtake smartphones on BBC iPlayer The BBC said there were 41 million requests for television and radio programmes from tablets, compared to 40 million from smartphones and other small screen mobile devices such as iPods. Tablets, which despite rapid growth sell in smaller numbers than smartphones, had previously lagged behind every month. The BBC said tablets had nonetheless overtaken, driven primarily by television viewing on their larger screens, rather than radio. Together, tablets and smartphones accounted for 30 per cent of iPlayer usage. In total the iPlayer received 272 million requests for programmes in March, the same as January. The first month of the year is usually busy as Britons stay indoors and catch up with Christmas specials, but the extended freezing weather year seems to have played a role in keeping online viewing up well into 2013. "The weather and a strong schedule have been a part of it but by far the biggest factor is the sales of devices in the run up to Christmas and the January sales," said Price. Top Gear's Africa specials were the most popular programmes on iPlayer in March by some distance, each attracting over a million more requests than the third-place programme, Comic Relief 2013.