BT Sport app on large screens
I designed a brand new BT Sport app across multiple large screen platforms such as Samsung TV, Apple TV, PlayStation, Xbox, Amazon Fire and Roku.
MVP focussed on live channels
In order to release the app in time for the upcoming football season and due to it being a brand new app across multiple new platforms, the decision was made early on to release a minimum viable product focused on finding and watching live channels and then iteratively improve and add new functionality to the app over time based on customer feedback and business needs.
Prototyping and testing
I worked closely with a user researcher to conduct usability testing with a variety of designs and prototypes I created using Unity. These could be interacted with either gaming controllers or infrared controllers depending on which device the participants normally use when viewing content at home.
Channel selection
The final channel selection design consisted of two carousels, the top one being larger to give emphasis to the main BT Sport channels and the smaller carousel below containing all the secondary Extra channels.
Seeing what’s on next
Designing and building an in-depth channel guide to view the full programming schedule wasn’t feasible within the timelines, but user research indicated there was a minimum expectation of being able to see the next programme coming up, which they can do from either the channel selection screen or within the channel playback screen.
Following platform specific design guidelines and expectations
A lot work was done to ensure the app felt natural across all platforms and controller types, especially gaming consoles where buttons aren’t as clearly defined and users expect to be able to make use of the extra buttons as shortcuts for things such as keyboard input, accessing additional info, playback controls and quick scrolling.
Adding VOD content
Once the MVP had been successfully released, I worked closely with the content editorial team to define how the vast library of BT Sport recorded content such as short-form clips, full match replays, documentaries and more should be organised and navigated within the app alongside the live content.
Reusable building blocks
I designed the main content discovery pages to consist of reusable content blocks which can be fully customised and ordered by the content editors using a bespoke content management system.
Collections and subpages
In addition to the main discovery pages, I created designs for collection pages and subpages which can be used by the content editors as additional ways of keeping content organised. These can be linked from within the carousels in the main pages and other subpages.
Search
I also designed a search feature that enables users to search the entire library of VOD content by player name, competition, video title etc. The results pre-populate when the user begins entering letters using the keyboard and they are also offered suggested search terms which update based on the letters that have been inputted.
Finding what’s coming up on BT Sport
I explored many design options for ways users could see the programming schedule of the channels within the app, from a full channel guide to designs with complex filtering by sport and date.
Focusing on live events
User research highlighted that users mainly just wanted to be able to find the live events that are coming up on BT Sport within the next few days, rather than a full channel schedule showing all programmes, and for finding live events further in the future users prefer using more dedicated mobile apps or websites.
Highlighting the ‘Top Picks‘
After exploring and testing many complex designs that allowed users to find and filter through all live events coming up in the next few days to one week, the final design features a single carousel of ‘Top Picks’ carefully curated by the content editors which highlights the most popular sports.
Improving the login experience
The original login method required users to remember and enter their login credentials using an on screen keyboard which was a clunky experience for a lot of users. Therefore I redesigned the default login screen to include a QR code that users could scan and login using their phones, or switch to using the keyboard if preferred.
Upselling to non-customers
It was also possible to see that a large number of logged out users were using the app often to view the free content or backing out of the login screen, which implied a lot of these users were currently not subscribed to BT Sport.
Therefore I designed a Monthly Pass upsell screen to appear before the login screen which can be A/B tested using different imagery and messaging to see which is most effective. The paying customers can easily skip this step to proceed to the login screen and then remain logged in for future visits.