The principle behind the sign in for iPlayer is one of wanting “a more reciprocal, personalised and engaged experience for our viewers”, according to David Ball, distribution and business development, BBC.
Ball was replying to a question about the possibility of the BBC charging for iPlayer at some stage in the future.
Ball also said that the BBC has in fact had sign in available on its own platform for a long time and that sign in allows it to have a personal relationship with viewers.
Furthermore, he stressed the importance the BBC attaches to attribution and channel brands.
With iPlayer, “there has been a continual march to ensure we follow the audience”. Furthermore, “we are seeing an enormous amount of usage in connected devices”.
Ball in addition said that personalisation is “very key” for the iPlayer.
As previously reported by Broadband TV News, the BBC’s DG Lord Hall announced plans in January to completely reinvent the iPlayer in order to make it the number one online TV service in the UK.
More recently, it was reported earlier this month that users of iPlayer would need to use a password to access the service within a matter of weeks. Some have suggested this will help reduce receiver licence fee evasion.
