The number of people watching on-demand and live-streamed content through online TV Player apps is to be recorded for the first time.

The Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board (BARB), which already provides viewing figures for UK television audiences, will start producing a beta version of its TV Player Report in September.

The report is the first set of BARB data to focus on viewing that takes place on computer devices including laptops, tablets and smartphones.

Using a software code developed by Kantar Media and implemented by broadcasters, BARB will report on viewing activity at a device level, rather than at personal level.

“It's a significant innovation from BARB and the result of close collaboration with broadcasters,” says Justin Sampson, Chief Executive at BARB. “At its heart is the generation of a census-level dataset that will provide our customers with a gold standard measure of online TV viewing."

This follows a report earlier this month by DigitalUK which found that 2 in 5 people access TV shows over the internet at least once a month, while viewing programmes on devices had grown by 17% in the last year.

The TV Player Report will eventually form part of Project Dovetail, a hybrid measurement system that will deliver full cross-platform reporting.