Peppa Pig in top search results for 2014

The year isn’t over but Yahoo7 has released data on 2014’s most-searched terms by Australians and they indicate a strong result for television-related terms.

Topping the list was Malaysian Airlines due to the disappearance of MH370 and downing of MH17, but it also includes Peppa Pig (presumably with so many people asking ‘What’s Peppa Pig?’), Robin Williams, INXS and sporting events the Commonwealth Games, FIFA World Cup in Brazil and the Australian Open.

No sign of My Kitchen Rules, Big Brother, The Bachelor, Game of Thrones or torrents….

In contrast, last year’s Top 10 was dominated by stars including Miley Cyrus, One Direction, Justin Bieber, Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Aniston and Rihanna.

In 2014, Yahoo7 has more than 750 million searches across desktop, mobile and tablet so far.

1. Malaysia Airlines
2014 has been a big year for Malaysia Airlines, dominating headlines for all the wrong reasons. The search still continues for missing Malaysia plane MH370 while crash experts have only recently recovered the wreckage from downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 which killed 298 passengers.

2. Minecraft
Critically acclaimed game, Minecraft started from humble beginnings to become one of the most popular games in the world, which took out the top spot for Yahoo7’s most popular searches last year. This year Minecraft still featured strongly, as the second most searched term.

3. Frozen
Unsurprisingly, the Frozen phenomenon continued in 2014 after premiering late in 2013. Earning more than $1.2 billion worldwide and going on to become the fifth highest grossing film of all time, Frozen captured the attention of children and adults alike.

4. FIFA World Cup
Millions of soccer fans from around the world tuned in to watch the World Cup in Brazil this year. More than one million visitors travelled to South America to watch 32 national teams compete to win the World Cup with Germany taking out the tournament after it defeatedArgentina in the final, 1-0.

5. Australian Open
The annual tournament sees the world’s favourite tennis players travel to Melbourne for the first Grand Slam tennis event of the year. In 2014, Swiss player, Stanislas Wawrinka claimed his first Grand Slam, defeating Rafael Nadal in the men’s final, while China’s Li Na beat Dominika Cibulkova to take out the women’s title.

6. Peppa Pig
Peppa Pig is a British animated series for preschool children. Since premiering in 2004, Peppa Pig has become a hit with kids and parents alike, with the five minute episodes centering on the adventures of Peppa and her friends. These days, Peppa Pig can be found everywhere, from DVDs to desserts, online streaming and on a huge range of kids clothing.

7. Robin Williams
The tragic death of Robin Williams in August shocked fans around the world, with many heading online to express their sadness at his passing. The Oscar-winning actor and stand-up comedian was the face of many movie classics, including Good Morning Vietnam, Dead Poets Society, Mrs Doubtfire, Good Will Hunting and Aladdin.

8. Commonwealth Games
This year saw 5,000 athletes converge on Glasgow, Scotland for the 2014 Commonwealth Games. 71 countries competed in 261 events across 18 different sports. England took out the medal tally for the first time since the 1980s, Australia and Canada following in second and third place while pacific island nation, Kiribati celebrated its very first gold medal win.

9. Ebola
2014 saw the largest Ebola outbreak ever documented, with the WHO declaring an international public health emergency in August. World aid has been directed to affected regions, with many African countries struggling to contain the latest Ebola outbreak. The first case of Ebola outside of Africa was reported in September, with media and the public following the stories of those infected and those who have recovered.

10. INXS
Iconic 1980’s rock band, INXS was once again the topic of conversation in 2014 with the television miniseries, INXS: Never Tear Us Apart. Airing on Channel Seven in February, the miniseries saw more than two million viewers tune in to relive the story of the band’s rise to stardom and events leading to the death of lead singer, Michael Hutchence in 1997. The miniseries gave INXS’ singles and albums a boost back up the ARIA charts, taking out the top spots in the weeks following broadcast.