BBC’s iMP Player Tests Well

Via Technology 360:

The BBC’s director of new media and technology has outlined the results of the 5,000 user test of the BBC integrated media player, which delivered a selection of BBC programs to users over a peer-to-peer network.

A couple of notable findings from the test: first, users lost access to many of the programs they downloaded before they had a chance to view them. The seven-day window cut them off. There needs to be a better accomodation of the “long tail” effect; BBC will explore allowing programs to be viewed for a short time beyond the seven day window in which they’re available for download. Second, about a third of users reported watching a program about which they might not have known otherwise. This is important, and it’s another pointer to something that Dennis Haarsager has made me aware of – the concept of “serendipitous discovery.” To paraphrase Haarsager, on-demand content deepens your relationship with your existing audience, but it also opens up your content to new audiences, something to which many of us in public broadcasting haven’t given enough thought.