BBC discovery app
May 9, 2016
BBC is to launch a discovery app, BBC+, as part of its content personalisation plans.
In a progress report a year after director general Tony Hall set out his vision for a more personal BBC, the corporation said that the new BBC+ mobile app will help viewers to discover collections of content from across the BBC. It will also roll out a new BBC Identity (ID) system that will be “more robust and even more secure” than the existing one, and will offer viewers personalised experiences on whatever devices they are using.
The BBC’s director of myBBC, Phil Fearnley, said that in the last year 6.4 million people have signed in to the BBC, with over a third coming back to the BBC on a monthly basis to benefit from “personalised signed-in experiences”.
Some 1.6 billion BBC programmes have been recommended to viewers based on what they’ve previously listened to or watched, 1.4 billion personalised alerts have been sent via the BBC Sport app, and in the last three months alone 1.7 million people have personalised the myNews section on the BBC News app and website, according to Fearnley.
The myBBC progress report also revealed that the personalisation tools are also helping the BBC when it comes to commissioning programmes.
“How audiences are engaging can be useful in informing commissioning decisions such as what further programming would help people delve a little deeper into that subject,” according to the report.