The secrets behind BBC iPlayer's 20m mobile downloads
We are in a new ‘golden age of public service broadcasting’ according to the BBC’s head of iPlayer content, Victoria Jaye, who last week triumphantly revealed the iPlayer mobile app had been downloaded 20m times for Apple and Android devices.
BBC's iPlayer app
Her bullish mood is understandable – 20m downloads is an astonishing success story, given the TV content available on the app can only be accessed by domestic viewers. And it far outweighs Channel 4’s equivalent 4oD, which is arguably in the same league in terms of must-watch catch-up programming; although the caveat is that the iPlayer is downloaded by BBC Radio audiences too, which gives it an edge over TV-only apps.
So what’s the BBC’s secret?
It would be wrong to ignore the power of first-mover advantage. The iPlayer was first launched way back in 2007, well ahead of its broadcast rival equivalents, and it started producing specific mobile accessible content back in 2011, just ahead of the mainstream smartphone explosion.
Early and sustained investment has led to a product which is head and shoulders above other online video providers, and the quality of the videos is second to none. Innovations such as the app’s inbuilt instant recognition of whether someone is accessing via wifi or 3G ensure content is served at the appropriate speed for best possible quality. Further, the developers have worked hard to make the app accessible to all BBC users, limiting the amount of tech know-how needed.
The BBC iPlayer developers have also remained consistently responsive to challenges posed by the rapidly changing mobile ecosystem. For example, when flash support was removed from the Android OS, they released a standalone media player that would enable BBC iPlayer to work again in an effort to ensure Android users have uninterrupted access to quality content.
The lack of disruptive advertising content is also a factor contributing to the app’s success – one that competitors such as Channel 4 and ITV should learn from.
Finally, the power of great customer focus is key to this success story. BBC’s public service remit motivates the broadcaster to invest heavily in ensuring excellent user experience and broadcast innovation, accessible to everyone rather than to the tech elite, and it shows.
James Connelly is co-founder and managing director of Fetch, and writes The Drum's Top Mobile Campaigns column