WAVE – DirecTV

Context

DirecTV is one of the world's leading providers of digital television entertainment services delivering a premium video experience to more than 37 million customers in the U.S. and Latin America.

As a multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD) offering more than 190 full-time HD channels1 in Dolby-Digital® 5.1 theater-quality sound, access to exclusive programming, and the most comprehensive collection of sports programming available anywhere. Delivering deliver the best in video entertainment to homes, airports, hotels, restaurants, hospitals, office buildings, airplanes, automobiles, and mobile devices.

Opportunity

As an r&d extension of the Digital Media Group, we were tasked with "Improving the Streaming Experience" by creating easier access points to content discovery and making it easier to binge video content on the desktop experience.

Having completed a comprehensive discovery phase of research, the concept of "WAVE" emerged. Based on the nature of the interaction model, and the depth of the content offering this was conceived in collaboration with Research Lead Jess Dale and Product Lead Alexandra Schmidt.

Role

I was fortunate to lead a talented team that included, an Art Director, an Information Architect, a UI Designer, and a front-end prototyper to deliver the proposed enhancement for viewers. Our Client-side partner at Direct TV was Megan Ellis and our executive sponsor was Karen Lever. The agency team included:

Chadd Wetherbee - Art Director
Justin Poston - Information Architect
Jieyu Xiong - UI Designer
Jordan Garcia - Front End Developer

Process

The effort kicked off with an internal strategy session. Looking at the long-term technology landscape for DTV video experiences and identifying success measures for the engagement. Focusing on content discovery and increased session lengths I structured the design effort around the streaming experience for video on demand (VOD) excluding live tv and focusing on an immersive experience for target users.