Introduction
This conceptual project stems from my personal frustration with dealing with outdated ways of watching sports. Simply finding out when my favourite team is playing and how to watch it can be a complicated quest.
This got me wondering – are other sports fans also finding dealing with TV programming a struggle? Can anything be done to improve their experience?
Imagine this scenario:
Mark, a Champions League fan, gets home from work and turns on his TV, but quickly gets frustrated after finding nothing interesting to watch. He wants to know when his team, Arsenal, is playing next, but scrolling through the TV program guide is confusing and fruitless.
He gives up and switches to his smartphone, searching for “when is Arsenal playing.” The first link tells him the match is in five days, but not what channel it’s on. Fed up with the fragmented experience, Mark abandons his search and starts scrolling social media instead.
Problem hypothesis
Sports fans might have difficulties accessing TV schedules for crucial games, especially when users are browsing live TV content.
Schedules from TV providers don’t give them easily accessible, detailed and personalised information.
This forces sports fans to resort to third party TV guides – through websites, mobile apps, or paper magazines.
Difficulties with accessing sports schedules negatively impact the experience of watching live TV, which may lead to reduced audience retention.
Research
Desk research
I got started with extensive desk research. I collected information about both traditional and online TV providers, their target demographics, various approaches to accessing sports schedules.
Diving deeper into TV functionalities, I explored Smart TV functionalities, the Smart TV market statistics, as well as the functions of EPG (Electronic Program Guide). I also collected online comments about sports TV guides.
Desk Research - Insights
- The TV market is very fragmented in every country, with multiple cable, satellite and online streaming providers.
- Solutions for sports-focused TV guides include third party websites and apps, but these often lack precise or localized information about TV programming
- Paper TV guides still sell, with the primary target audience being the older demographic.
- EPG is a standard for TV guides with most providers, while integrated smart features are still a rarity.
I proceeded with planning user research:
- Sample: 9 sports fans, ages 18-55+
- Recruiting respondents: via word of mouth
- Interview duration: 30-40 minutes.
Method was dependent on the location and availability of interviewees.
- 4 in-person individual interviews,
- 3 online individual interviews,
- 1 in-person dyad (an interview with two participants).
User Interviews
Core insights from User Interviews:
- Google is the main method of checking TV guide, but leaves some dissatisfied
- Most users follow the home country’s league or representation
- Young users sometimes do not have access to traditional TV and opt for online live streaming services
- Users are especially interested in major events and tournaments
- Knowing the context of a live match is very important for users
- Some users talk positively about the concept of receiving notifications about live events
- Some users express need of browsing complete tournament schedules
Strategy
Strategy Tools
Proceeding onto the next phase, I chose the following strategy tools:
Personas
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Jobs to be done
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Value Proposition Canvas
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Unique Selling Point
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Business Model Canvas
Personas
I sorted user interview responses into 2 major categories. They turned out to reflect the major differences between younger and older age groups. As a result, 2 created personas reflect the younger and older demographics.
Primary persona
Martin, 25 years old
Needs & Goals:
– He’s an avid sports fan with a favourite sports and teams that he follows closely.
– Always follows the matches of his home country’s representation.
– From time to time likes to also watch other, less “mainstream” sports.
Needs:
– Cares not only about the match that’s live, but also about its context. Wishes to be able to find out more about the context.
– Wishes sports TV providers gave him more personalized recommendations of what to watch.
– Needs a comprehensive way of planning live broadcasts to watch.
– When watching a live event, needs to know about what’s on next.
Problems:
– Lacks a reliable way of checking the TV schedule.
– Finds it especially difficult to find interesting broadcasts to watch, especially if it’s a niche sport.
– Sometimes misses out on important events, because he has no idea that they’re on.
– Doesn’t always have access to traditional TV services, which is why he often has no way of watching certain broadcasts.
Tech:
– Doesn’t always have access to traditional TV service providers. Prefers online sports streaming services.
– Uses Google Search for checking “where to watch” certain broadcasts.
– Often uses mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets in addition to the computer for watching events.
– Likes watching sports on a big screen, preferably on a Smart TV.
Secondary persona
Frank, 57 years old
Bio:
– A long time sports fan, with developed watching habits.
– Always tries to watch matches of the home country’s representation in various sports.
– An avid fan of the home city’s football team.
– Sometimes watches sports spontaneously, without previous planning.
Needs:
– Needs to know when upcoming and relevant live events are going to be on.
– Wants to be able to follow specific teams and view their schedules.
– Needs a simple interface to make the TV experience easier.
– Needs a clear overview of what’s on right now, and details about the current broadcast.
Problems:
– Frustrated with having to use Google Search for checking sports results.
– Easily gets lost in interfaces like EPGs and complex streaming services.
– Hates to miss an important match.
Tech:
– Uses primarily cable or satellite TV providers.
– Uses EPG to check what’s on next and to record programs.
– Sometimes uses a paper TV guide to check broadcasts for the upcoming week.
– Has a Smart TV and uses it to watch streaming services.
Jobs To Be Done
Based on the personas, I formulated Jobs to be done – and sorted them into 5 categories: Discovery, Planning, Personalization, Viewing and Service.
Value Proposition Canvas
Using the Jobs to be done and insights from interviews, I brainstormed using the Value Proposition Canvas.
Ad-Lib Value Proposition
Are you fed up with having to constantly search for upcoming sports broadcasts, instead of simply enjoying the game?
Our online streaming service allows passionate sports fans to effortlessly discover and watch live broadcasts that interest them, thanks to a personalized, integrated TV guide, unlike traditional providers and chaotic internet searching.
Unique Selling Point
Based on the VPC, I used the Venn Diagram to formulate the Unique Selling Point.
UX Design Brief
At this point all of my research and strategy tools were pointing towards a simple solution – improving on an already innovative platform – HBO Max Sports.
I decided to formulate a complete UX Design Brief before proceeding further.
Scope summary
“My Sports” Page
Crucial information and programming concerning a user’s favourite teams and athletes.
My Sports Watch List
Includes only sports broadcasts with clearly displayed essential programming data (time etc).
EPG: An Electronic Program Guide
Standard element of most TV streaming services.
“Scores” / “Tables” / “Statistics” sections
For both quick information and more in depth info, for specific players, games, tournaments, and leagues.
Business Model Canvas
At this stage I was ready to proceed onto defining the platform’s business model.
I used the Business Model Canvas primarily to uncover the Cost Structures and Revenue Streams of the proposed new HBO Max Sports platform.
User Stories
I proceeded to defining User Stores and sorting them on the Kano matrix.
This allowed me to uncover a potential Minimum Valuable Product.
Narrowing down the scope
I reviewed the user interviews and personas once again and compared them to the newly created MVP.
Even though the Scores and Statistics section seemed like a nice addition for some users, it did not contribute enough value to the majority – especially to the older audience.
As a result, I decided to narrow down the MVP by removing the scores and statistics.
25%
By rejecting 1 out of 4 core functionalities, the scope was reduced by 25%.
Flow 1:
Broadcast & context
1. Home Screen (Sports)
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2. Find Tour de France
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3. Check Broadcast Details
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4. Open Stream
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5. Adjust Quality
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6. Check Broadcast Context
Flow 2:
Check what's on TV
1. Home Screen (Sports)
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2. Find EPG
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3. Find Broadcast
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4. Add to Watch List
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5. Turn On Notification
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6. View Watch List
Flow 3:
Check My Sports
1. Home Screen (Sports)
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2. Find My Sports
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3. Open Search
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4. Find Player
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5. Follow Player
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6. View Player’s Game
Design
HBO Design System & Lo-fi frames
I started by analyzing the existing design of HBO Max, aiming at fitting into the existing design system.
I drew the lo-fi frames on paper for maximum efficiency.
Web Application Prototype
I assembled the hi-fi prototype using Figma.
Sports Home: Initial Viewport
The home screen features a clear overview of the main 2 channels with necessary information about the current broadcasts.
Sports Home: EPG & My Sports
The EPG is available through Upcoming -> “Go to Full Schedule”, while My Sports is accessible through the highlighted violet section.
Broadcast Context
“About Broadcast” button takes the user to a context screen with description, essential controls and quick overview of “Next up” without leaving the broadcast.
Electronic Program Guide
The EPG got a major redesign with current broadcasts clearly highlighted in magenta. Previous “Browse by sport” guide is still available below for an alternative view.
EPG: Broadcast Details
Clicking an EPG section takes the user to a detailed overview with essential info controls, including setting notifications for upcoming broadcasts.
My Sports
My Sports is a brand new section allowing the user to fully customize the experience by adding their favourite athletes, teams, events and countries.
Relevant recommended broadcasts appear in the “Broadcasts For You” tab.
My Sports: Athlete's Profile
Users are able to follow their favourite athletes, see their upcoming games and events. Following a player results in their games being displayed in “Broadcasts For You” tab.
Next Steps
I plan to conduct usability testing with the same respondents.
Results will serve as insights for creating a potential second iteration of the design.
“My generation doesn’t watch cable TV anymore… For us watching sports channels through online streaming services would be a great option!”
– Zuzanna, quote from user research
Project Workload Summary
9
Interviews Conducted
17+
Documents Created
200+
Hours Spent
Case study's author
This was a solo project.
Borys Kapica
Thank you for viewing this case study.
Feel free to view my other projects and get in touch!