2014
service design & mobile second screen experience
sky hdtv
never use
a remote
controle again
my role
Original Concept, UX and Design Director
about
Using a design strategy to transform a traditional pay-TV broadcaster service into an customised experience that creates the same sense of freedom of on-demand services and completely re-think how we interact with our TV.
The mobile app for SKY HDTV clients is a complete second screen solution able to learn how people behave when watching TV and create playlists of programs based on the interests of every user.
what is about
People want playlists rather than channels.
backstage
The main task of the app is to help customers find the best shows and to solve this challenge we must first understand that people do not watch channels. Instead what people really watch is shows. So why all programming grids are organised based on a channel list? We don’t like HBO, what we like is Game Of Thrones. We don’t like FOX, we like Simpsons.
So, instead of listing channels the app lists all shows from each channel in the order that he understand as the most interesting for each SKY customer for each time range.
-
The app becomes a dashboard of playlists that users can navigate, like, dislike or record programs throughout each time range, from what is live now to what will start in the next hours or in the next days.
If there is more than a program that a user wants to watch in a given time range, it’s that simple to just record one of the options.
-
When you open the app for the first time, the user answers questions about the programming that define the basis of their taste and profile. The answers generate a matrix of each user's preferences. The percentages can be edited at any time.
-
What really makes things absolutely convenient, is that the app connects to SKY equipment via wifi and automatically changes channels on the TV according to the show that you have liked. So, for instance, when a program ends the app automatically switches your TV to the channel where the next show listed in your playlist is about to start.
-
Every time users use the app it learns with each interaction, by either when users like or dislike shows or by monitoring the time users spend watching each program, all data is used to improve the efficiency of the suggestions.
The app will start understanding which programs clients prefer to watch soon after arising at home from work, witch soup pop operas before going to bed, witch cartoons to watch in the morning and what sports to watch on Saturday night. Users can create profiles for every member of the family, so the suggestions change according to who is watching.
When a program ends the app automatically switches your TV to the channel where the next show listed in your playlist is about to start.
-
In order to make suggestions more and more accurate, we develop the app to be able to completely kill the tradicional remote controller by re-thinking ordinary tasks such as changing channels up and down (zapping) or even adjusting the volume in a way that nobody will miss the old controller.
To adjust the volume, just tap at any time in the screen with two fingers simultaneously and then slide up or down.
-
The app is also a content hub of the most popular shows, with special pages that centralize all social media buzz in real time. Related hashtags, content from the artists of the casting and exclusive content created exclusively by SKY.
-
Eventually the app suggests programs that are not part of the user package and offers an upgrade or purchase pay-per-view. In these situations, the app only recommends programs that fit in each user profile.
-
This is a very effective way to monetise over the millions of SKY customers, making the app not just a clients service tool, but also a new source of business for SKY.
credits
Fred Saldanha, Danilo Rodrigues, Francisco Adelano, Fabio del Rio, Tiago Furquim, Renata Bokel, Rafael Castro, Fabiana Franco, Rodolfo Campitelli, Túlio Silva, Fábio Dias, Agrício Silva Melo, Marcelo Miranda, Darwin Oliveira.
