With sales of iPads and other tablet devices exploding over the Christmas holiday period in the U.K., use of the BBC's iPlayer app nearly doubled in just two months, according to the public broadcaster, citing a study from information technology researchers International Data Corporation. The first episode of David Attenborough's Africa, the most-viewed show on tablet devices in January, drew 2.3 million views. Overall viewing increased from 21 million in November to 40 million in January. A year earlier, the figure stood at 11 million. An even more dramatic rise in mobile viewing was evident in iPlayer use on smartphones. The BBC said that requests for TV shows from smartphones grew from 9 million in January 2012 to 38 million in February 2013. In a statement, Dave Price, head of BBC iPlayer, said: BBC iPlayer had a record-breaking festive period, with performance driven by new mobiles and tablets unwrapped on Christmas Day, and it looks like these devices have yet to be put down.