TVO Today

TVO Today

TVO Today

Bringing TVO's journalism and documentaries to iOS and Android

Bringing TVO's journalism and documentaries to iOS and Android

One app for articles, series and offline viewing, designed for two platforms at once.

The Task: To create a new digital experience for TVO Today on both the web and two custom built, iOS and Android apps

The Client: TVO

My Role: UX Designer and Researcher

Skills involved: user research, usability testing, affinity diagram, customer journey mapping, interaction design, prototyping, wireframing

Tools: Figma, Adobe Suite (XD), Miro

Timeline: 1 year for major release - ongoing iterations and improvements

What I owned

I led design for the apps from research to release. I owned the information architecture, the video experience and the download system, and ran usability testing on prototypes. I also pushed for changes to how our team worked, including having more 1:1 touch points with developers and bringing greater unity and shared knowledge among our teams

Younger audiences were driving growth, but the experience felt dated

Gen Z and millennials were driving TVO's digital growth, and usage jumped 12% when COVID-19 hit. The experience they arrived at was outdated, and there was no app. TVO also wanted to reach more diverse audiences and tell more stories from an Ontario perspective.

*Based on GA analytics between 2020 & 2021

When COVID-19 hit, a 12% spike in usage underscored the urgent need to modernize an outdated experience.

25-34

52%

40%

25-34

Gen-Z and Millennials significantly boosted TVO's growth pre-pandemic.

COVID 19

2021

When COVID-19 hit, a 12% spike in usage underscored the urgent need to modernize an outdated experience.

25-34

*Based on GA analytics between 2020 & 2021

40%

52%

Gen-Z and Millennials significantly boosted TVO's growth pre-pandemic.

25-34

2020

COVID 19

2021

When COVID-19 hit, a 12% spike in usage underscored the urgent need to modernize an outdated experience.

25-34

*Based on GA analytics between 2020 & 2021

40%

52%

Gen-Z and Millennials significantly boosted TVO's growth pre-pandemic.

25-34

2020

Three constraints that shaped the design

Working with the current affairs and documentary division, a small team had to:

  • Fit articles, documentaries and series into one app

  • Build for iOS and Android at the same time

  • Allow video downloads that expire after 30 days, to respect streaming rights


My job was to design an information architecture that worked for both readers and viewers.

People wanted credible content, and a way to switch off

In the interviews I conducted, trust in journalistic sources mattered most. But people also wanted to relax and step away from the news cycle, so format variety and a calm, organized app mattered just as much.

Three constraints that shaped the design

Working with the current affairs and documentary division, a small team had to:

  • Fit articles, documentaries and series into one app

  • Build for iOS and Android at the same time

  • Allow video downloads that expire after 30 days, to respect streaming rights


My job was to design an information architecture that worked for both readers and viewers.

Three constraints that shaped the design

Working with the current affairs and documentary division, a small team had to:


  • Fit articles, documentaries and series into one app

  • Build for iOS and Android at the same time

  • Allow video downloads that expire after 30 days, to respect streaming rights


My job was to design an information architecture that worked for both readers and viewers.

People wanted credible content, and a way to switch off

In the interviews I conducted, trust in journalistic sources mattered most. But people also wanted to relax and step away from the news cycle, so format variety and a calm, organized app mattered just as much.

These became the app's structure:

  • Separate read and watch tabs

  • A clean series view

  • Downloads for watching offline

Visuals and hype keep me engaged

Journalistic Sources are important

Organization is Key

I like consuming quality content but, I also need to tune out.

People wanted credible content, and a way to switch off

In the interviews I conducted, trust in journalistic sources mattered most. But people also wanted to relax and step away from the news cycle, so format variety and a calm, organized app mattered just as much.

Visuals and hype keep me engaged

Journalistic Sources are important

Organization is Key

I like consuming quality content but, I also need to tune out.

These became the app's structure:

  • Separate read and watch tabs

  • A clean series view

  • Downloads for watching offline

These became the app's structure:

  • Separate read and watch tabs

  • A clean series view

  • Downloads for watching offline

Make expiry visible before it happens

Downloads had to expire after 30 days. A video that silently vanished would feel broken, so I made sure days remaining and the status when the title did expire, to align with user expectations

Handled the dead end

When a title's rights ended completely, it couldn't be renewed. Instead of an error, the app notified that the content was unavailable anymore and deleting was the only option

COVID 19

25-34

*Based on GA analytics between 2020 & 2021

40%

52%

Gen-Z and Millennials significantly boosted TVO's growth pre-pandemic.

When COVID-19 hit, a 12% spike in usage underscored the urgent need to modernize an outdated experience.

25-34

A video experience built on our existing player and minimal development

Rather than build new players, I redesigned the experience on top of our existing video SDK for iOS, and only relied on an Android development team since none had been developed. This kept development realistic of our small team

One app for reading and watching


In this multiplatform project, one of our solutions was to enhance content accessibility by developing an article and streaming App for both iOS and Android, designed
based on our research to deliver impactful user experiences.

With limited time and a small team, we focused on what research said people expected: fast access to articles and video in one place. A native app also let us add personal features the website couldn't offer, like downloads.

To provide the best video experience, we custom designed it every step of the way with our viewers needs in mind

Leveraging our existing SDK, we redesigned a sleek and intelligent video system that allows users to enjoy our content in the best way they feel like watching

A video experience built on our existing player and minimal development

Rather than build new players, I redesigned the experience on top of our existing video SDK for iOS, and only relied on an Android development team since none had been developed. This kept development realistic of our small team

  • Manage Videos

    Series episodes are thoughtfully managed in a responsive sheet making navigating from a series to episode simple and straightforward

  • Expiring Videos

    Due to differing streaming rights privileges, we had to ensure that people didn't have access content beyond a 30 day period, therefore, after a video is expired they must renew the content if it is available. 

  • Offline Mode Screen

    When offline, a user can still access downloaded content stored on their device.

  • Manage Videos

    Series episodes are thoughtfully managed in a responsive sheet making navigating from a series to episode simple and straightforward

  • Expiring Videos

    Due to differing streaming rights privileges, we had to ensure that people didn't have access content beyond a 30 day period, therefore, after a video is expired they must renew the content if it is available. 

  • Offline Mode Screen

    When offline, a user can still access downloaded content stored on their device.

  • Manage Videos

    Series episodes are thoughtfully managed in a responsive sheet making navigating from a series to episode simple and straightforward

  • Expiring Videos

    Due to differing streaming rights privileges, we had to ensure that people didn't have access content beyond a 30 day period, therefore, after a video is expired they must renew the content if it is available. 

  • Offline Mode Screen

    When offline, a user can still access downloaded content stored on their device.

The apps launched on both platforms and became a direct way for TVO's audience to follow Ontario and global stories, including offline.

Because of its success, the organization also prioritized an iPad optimized view that launched immediately after the mobile apps.

What i'd do next

  • Track each section's performance to see what keeps people coming back

  • Improve accessibility with transcripts and closed captions

  • Explore a native iPad app, sign-in for personalization, live streaming and audio versions of articles


    Other potential improvements include building an iPad app, adding a sign-in feature, introducing live streaming, and offering voice-generated articles and downloads.

Results

Results

Average rating across 100+ reviews on the App Store and Google Play.

4.2

Average rating across 100+ reviews on the App Store and Google Play.

Increase in weekly active users after launch, over 6 months.

6%

4.2

Average rating across 100+ reviews on the App Store and Google Play.

Increase in weekly active users after launch, over 6 months.

6%

© 2023 Eric William Hanson - All Rights Reserved

The apps launched on both platforms and became a direct way for TVO's audience to follow Ontario and global stories, including offline.

The apps launched on both platforms and became a direct way for TVO's audience to follow Ontario and global stories, including offline.

Because of its success, the organization also prioritized an iPad optimized view that launched immediately after the mobile apps.

Because of its success, the organization also prioritized an iPad optimized view that launched immediately after the mobile apps.

What i'd do next

  • Track each section's performance to see what keeps people coming back

  • Improve accessibility with transcripts and closed captions

  • Explore a native iPad app, sign-in for personalization, live streaming and audio versions of articles


    Other potential improvements include building an iPad app, adding a sign-in feature, introducing live streaming, and offering voice-generated articles and downloads.

  • Track each section's performance to see what keeps people coming back

  • Improve accessibility with transcripts and closed captions

  • Explore a native iPad app, sign-in for personalization, live streaming and audio versions of articles


    Other potential improvements include building an iPad app, adding a sign-in feature, introducing live streaming, and offering voice-generated articles and downloads.

Want to learn more? Lets talk

Want to learn more? Lets talk

Want to learn more? Lets talk


TVO Today is Your Ultimate Destination for News, Current Affairs,and Global Documentaries
and Series told from an Ontario Context

To design our app, we collaborated with the current affairs and documentary division. As a resource-constrained organization, we encountered several challenges, including:

  • Integrating articles, documentary videos, and series within a single app.

  • Developing the app concurrently for both Android and iOS platforms.

  • Enabling video downloads with a 30-day availability.

These requirements added complexity to the app development process. My role was to ensure that the app's information architecture met the needs of two primary user groups

© 2023 Eric William Hanson - All Rights Reserved

© 2023 Eric William Hanson - All Rights Reserved

© 2023 Eric William Hanson - All Rights Reserved

Visuals and hype keep me engaged

Journalistic Sources are important

Organization is Key

I like consuming quality content but, I also need to tune out.

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