easiest way for a “members area”

Hi, I’m sure WordPress can accomplish this, just not sure how to go about it, or which plugin, widget to get.

Basically, I want to have a site wherein someone reads an article or just front page text in general and is then persuaded to sign in to access some video content on another page. Obviously the goal is to get a customer database building. However, they would need to have an email confirmation sent so that we know their email address is legitimate. Kind of like a forum but I don’t need anything that robust and big. After their email is validated, they could then login, and be automatically taken to the page with the video and other content I want to show. Also, from time to time, I would plan on changing that specific video and content so I would want to be able to notify all those who watched the first video that there is a new one up.

Thank you in advance!