Viewing of BBC shows on the iPlayer via tablets and smartphones overtook computers for the first time in September, with 70m requests, according to new figures.
Mobile and tablet viewing accounted for 41% of the 176m requests for BBC TV programmes on the iPlayer in September.
This compares with the 33m requests from viewers using computers, 33% of the total, a milestone that underlines the rise of portable devices.
'With tablets at the top of many people's Christmas list for 2013, we expect this to continue to grow even further,' said the head of BBC iPlayer, Dan Taylor.
The BBC said that it is has found that viewers flock to the iPlayer at 10pm, with many choosing to switch from watching traditional TV to tablets to catch their favourite shows in bed.
There is another spike in the morning as consumers choose to go mobile to catch TV on the way to work.
Just three years ago the iPlayer notched up only 5m requests a month from mobiles and tablets, just 6% of total viewing.
The figures published on Thursday also highlight the rapid rise of the TV-friendly size of the iPad over other mobile devices.
Tablets accounted for 43 million of the 70m requests to portable devices, well ahead of mobiles on 27m despite the ubiquity of smartphones.
Requests to view TV shows on tablet devices have grown 250% in a year - from almost level pegging with mobiles on 17m last September to 43m last month - while mobile requests have climbed 29%.
The only platform on which the iPlayer is available to see a decline in viewing requests is computers, down from 70m to 58m in a year, a 17% decline.
The level of iPlayer requests via TV sets offering on-demand viewing - via services such as BSkyB, YouView, Virgin Media and BT - have stayed pretty stable year on year at 29m.
The BBC said that there has been a total of 20m downloads of the BBC iPlayer mobile app for Apple and Android devices.
'Twenty million downloads of the BBC iPlayer mobile app marks a golden age of public service television,' said the head of TV content for BBC iPlayer, Victoria Jaye. 'It cements iPlayer's role as BBC television's fifth channel, enabling audiences to fit their enjoyment of the full range of BBC programmes around their busy lives.'
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