Virgin Media TV customers watched more on-demand content in 2011 than the cable company had expected.
The pay TV giant revealed the total number of on-demand views racked up by its subscribers stood at 1,004,447,198, representing an increase of 14 per cent year on year and exceeding its original prediction of slightly more than one billion.
To put the figure into context, if a single person set out to watch this amount of content in a single session, it would take them over 56,000 years.
ITV mainstay Coronation Street was the most-watched catch-up show for the second year running, while The Vampire Diaries was named the most popular full series.
Virgin Media attributed the rise in on-demand viewing to the increased uptake of its TiVo-powered next-generation cable TV service.
The broadcaster previously claimed TiVo is changing the viewing habits of its TV customers, with one in every four channel views originating from a different method than the traditional electronic programme guide.
Cindy Rose, executive director of digital entertainment at Virgin Media, said: "We know on demand is incredibly popular as it's watched more than any channel except for BBC One or ITV1, but we far surpassed our expectations in 2011."