BBC Announces New Personalized Content Portal With 'BBC+' App

The BBC released a new app today called BBC+ which aims to let users customize the content offered by the British broadcaster for a more relevant, personalized experience.

The idea behind the app is to work as a customized one-stop portal for all things BBC that corrals content from across the service, from TV and radio to exclusively online bitesize and longform content.

Users are prompted to sign in to the app on launch and begin choosing their content preferences. The app's homepage for example offers a fully customizable content carousel that users populate by choosing from a list of editorial themes, including regional and national news, sports, gaming, science, music, business, politics, health, food, and more.

Pooled data collected by the app is then used by algorithms and human curators to work out what content formats are most popular and help identify trending themes to better serve up more relevant content.

"BBC+ is a key part of the journey towards achieving a much more personal BBC, and truly brings topical information from across the whole organization to your pocket, ready for you to access at your convenience," said the head of BBC+ Paul Owen in a press release. "This is just the start for us, and over time the app will evolve and add new features based on user feedback."

The app is a key aspect of the broadcaster's vision for the BBC in the digital era – the "myBBC revolution", as director general Tony Hall called it – which seeks to reinvent public service broadcasting by using viewers' data and interests to put them in the driver's seat.

According to the BBC, 7.2 million people have signed in to the BBC's existing digital services to date, and consumed 44 percent more content than those not signed in.

In terms of the broadcaster's data privacy policy, Hall made the following statement:

We believe your data is yours. Wherever we collect and use your data, we will only use it to bring you the things that matter to you, surface hidden gems that you might not otherwise have found, and improve the BBC’s services.

We’ll put you in control over how we use your data, and be open and transparent about what we’re using your data for. You will always be able to change or delete it.

We will not do anything with your data that isn’t clearly explained, or that you don’t agree to. We will never sell your data, let other organizations track what you do with the BBC for their own purposes, or spam you.

And we’ll guard and protect your data. The BBC is set up to serve the public, and to help everyone in the UK get the best out of digital technologies and the BBC. We have no reason to collect your data other than to serve you better.

BBC+ is a free download for iPad and iPhone available on the U.K. App Store. [Direct Link]