KPN TV was stuck in a traditional value chain, resulting in a negative vicious circle of higher costs and worse customer experience. Following it's matchmaker strategy, my team came up with the very best of live TV and on demand in 1 place, available on phone, tablet, desktop, Chromecast, AirPlay and smart tv.
Challenge
KPN TV was stuck in a traditional value chain, resulting in a negative vicious circle of higher costs and worse customer experience.
Outcome
The very best of live TV and on demand in 1 place, available on phone, tablet, desktop, Chromecast, AirPlay and smart tv.
Delivered
User Research
User Strategy
Interaction Design
Visual Design
Whether a user likes to watch live TV or opts for an on-demand movie or series, everything can now easily be streamed to the TV.
Strategy
To meet the challenges of the TV market, KPN identified 4 future scenarios:
- Leave the TV market
- (Co-)produce unique content (like VodafoneZiggo)
- Acquire major content players in the value chain (like Comcast acquired NBC and Sky)
- Be a matchmaker
After a thorough analysis, which I will not reveal here, KPN opted for the matchmaker scenario (4): by partnering with major content providers, like Netflix, there is no big risk of investing in unsuccessful content, whilst KPN’s customers are offered access to the best content of global players.
On smart TV, the KPN app can be controlled using the arrow keys on the remote control, and on certain models, using the remotes' pointer.
The overall idea is that if KPN TV creates value for content partners, these partners will stay with KPN — which attracts users in return. In other words: it should be our mission to let HBO, Pathé Thuis and Amazon Prime stand out on the platform: make them shine. ✨ In order to achieve this, KPN needs to make sure that relevant content is available and findable for users. If it’s not, users will churn to a matchmaking competitor.
Open card sorting exercises were performed with over 80 KPN customers. Their assignment was to categorize and label a pile of 100 TV shows, movies and series (and sports and talent shows and nature programs and children's series and much more).
The outcomes of the card sorting exercises led us to the main categorization as shown above.
Creative
With a team of 5 designers, we crafted the user interface for a brand-new platform for KPN TV. This platform was designed to cater to virtually any conceivable device, including KPN's own TV receiver, various smart TVs, Android and iOS devices, mobile browsers, laptops, and desktops.
Users can now seamlessly switch to another device: videos will always resume at just the right moment.
Our process began with a thorough examination of the entire customer journey through quantitative and qualitative user research. In retrospect, I think our three most significant achievements were:
- Providing high-quality thumbnails and previews, throughout the entire platform, that seamlessly integrate with the user interface. This involves ensuring that there are no text overlays, appropriate distance and scale, and optimal brightness, among other factors.
- Streamlining what can be described as an omnidevice platform. Whether accessed via a (smart) TV, mobile device (browser, Android app, or iOS app), tablet, PC, Chromecast, or AirPlay, the look and feel remains consistent.
- Successfully designing a highly complex search functionality, staying in sync across all devices. This functionality caters to users who may not yet have a clear idea of what they want to watch, making it user-friendly for both older and younger viewers. Additionally, it effectively balances attention between live TV and on-demand content.
In conclusion, our team's dedication and expertise have resulted in a cutting-edge user interface, optimized for a seamless viewing experience across multiple devices.
Impact
The renewed KPN TV is used by 2.7 million customers in The Netherlands.
Client quote
Had an amazing experience working with Merijn at KPN, where I was product owner. I have collaborated with many designers, but the dedication that Merijn demonstrates is rarely seen.
Amber Zonnenberg
Head of Digital Product
De Bijenkorf