±«Óãtv

• 5.3 million video requests received to Radio 1's Big Weekend website, compared to one million from last year
• Six webcams were placed within the site offering live streaming of the event, creating over one million hits
• Over 1.1 million people tuned into ±«Óãtv Red Button coverage of Radio 1's Big Weekend
• Unique Users to Radio 1's mobile site tripled over the weekend

New figures released today by the ±«Óãtv show how this year's RadioÌý1's Big Weekend was the most interactive to date, with record numbers of audiences going online, using mobile phones or pressing their red button to enjoy the UK's biggest free music event.

The station's flagship music event took place on 9 and 10 May in Lydiard Park, Swindon and was a truly multiplatform offering. The focus this year was on making the audience feel more connected to the event, with the interactive team delivering live and recorded content across multiple platforms to ensure everyone had a chance to get involved – regardless of whether they were able to attend the event.

New additions to this year's coverage included six webcams placed around the site, which provided live footage from locations including the main stage, the exclusive Live Lounge and an overview of the entire site. For the first time, audiences were able to select which cameras they watched, giving them unprecedented access to backstage areas and unique performances.

"Becky Cam", from ±«Óãtv Radio 1's Scott Mills Show, also appeared for the first time at this year's event. The backstage camera used new technology to allow audiences to be able to interact with Radio 1 DJs, musicians and crew in real time with live chat. The webcams alone received more than one million hits, with over 56,000 comments received during the live chat sessions.

The Radio 1 Big Weekend website received 7.4 million page impressions, which was up from 7.3 million the previous year.

However, the largest increase came from mobile. Mobile page impressions more than tripled over the weekend, and total page impressions were up 361% to 143,000, from 31,000 in 2008. Audience members who attended the festival were able to queue for special Bluetooth-enabled toilets to get exclusive content direct to their handsets.

Ben Chapman, Interactive Editor, Radio 1, said: "This year's event was one of the biggest to date and I'm pleased that our interactive offering was able to reach so many people. We are always looking at how we connect with our audiences, and this success marks the beginning of an exciting year for interactive services from Radio 1 and 1Xtra."

Following the success of the exclusive Elbow performance on the Red Button, the new figures show that record audiences tuned in to watch coverage of the event on their TV. More than one million views were recorded during the seven-day catch-up period, making it the most popular music session to be shown on the ±«Óãtv's Red Button this year.

Mark Friend, Controller of Multiplatform and Interactive, A&M, said: "The interactive element around Radio 1's Big Weekend is a crucial way for people to experience the event.

"The five-fold increase in video requests (to 5.3 million) shows that audiences truly value the multiplatform content we provide and I'm pleased we were able to take our flagship free music event to an even wider audience.

"We innovated successfully around live web streaming and live chat which really resonated with our audience. We're already looking forward to how we can replicate this success with our Glastonbury coverage."

Notes to Editors

Radio 1's Big Weekend is now in its ninth year. The station's flagship music event is the UK's largest free-ticketed music festival. 40,000 tickets were given away for this year's event, held in Lydiard Park, Swindon.

TM