uefa euros 2024

Designing a complete Euros experience cross platform

Context

In June 2024, ITVX hosted the UEFA European Football Championship. It was the home of live matches, pre match commentary, post match analysis, highlights, companion shows and all related content, to be streamed across Connected TV, iOS & Android apps, Desktop browser, tablet and mobile devices.

What we knew

*Based on The Rugby World Cup 2023

Understanding the Viewer Problems

Users want to be able to find out when their team is playing
They want to find the match that is on 'right now' in the quickest way possible

How can we give users pre-match information whilst allowing them to quickly access live content?

Understanding the Business Problems

22.6% of users were coming to ITVX to only watch a match (and nothing else)
23.6% of users dropped off at the end of a match (and didn't watch any other ITVX content)

How can we entice users to engage with ITVX after the live match has ended?

Uplift in new user registrations

Increased interaction with the site beyond the live experience

Conversion to watch more content

What does success look like?

As ITVX hadn't hosted the UEFA Euros before, metrics would be measured against the Rugby World Cup 2023 as the most recent big sporting event, and The Qatar World Cup 2022 as the most similar football event.

Process

Data Dive

To understand how football fans interact with the site and find content, the search terms used to access football content were investigated. The behaviour of Rugby World Cup watchers was also investigated as this was the most recent big tournament hosted on ITVX. This analysis helps predict how UEFA Euros users might engage with the app.

Insight- Even though a bespoke Collection Page had been created, users were not highly engaging with it or aware of its existence. Instead, they were using direct search terms to go straight to live content, bypassing the Collection Page entirely.

Important features

Match highlights

Other platforms features

Important features

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User Survery & Interviews

Using a survey tool, I targeted Rugby fans who watched the Rugby World Cup on ITVX to gain insights into sports fans' preferences and perceptions of ITVX.

I then conducted interviews with a selection of sports fans to delve deeper into their expectations for a streaming platform, viewing habits, and goals when watching sporting events.

Insight- A significant amount of users watched the matches either on live TV in their homes or in a pub, and didn't interact with the app. Those that did use the app, demonstrated an interest in related content.

Persona Creation

Based off the qualitative research, I collaborated in the creation of six key Sports fans user personas, in order to ensure that all users needs would be met in designing the solution.

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Competitor analysis

An extensive competitor analysis was done, looking at direct competitors, bespoke sports platforms, short form platforms both UK focused and beyond. I looked at all platforms: Connected TV, Browser and App

I documented all parts of the user journey, homepages, the metadata used, tournament pages, programme pages and any other noticeable features.

View competitor analysis

Stakeholder workshop

Using all of the research above, I facilitated a workshop to look at the overall Sports experience on ITVX, with relevant stakeholders from across the business

Workshop goals

Identify issues and pain points with current sports experience
Identify improvements and goals for the sports experience

Project objectives

Create a better experience for sports watchers
Retain live sport event watchers beyond the event
Make ITVX known as a place for sport

Workshop outcomes

Ensure prominence of both live matches and related content on the homepage
A home for all Euros content, either a new Collection page or the existing Sports Category page
Incorporate ITV Sports short form content rails on both the homepage and category page

Initial design proposals

Based off the decisions made in the workshop, two initial solutions were proposed. Wireframes were created for both options, and presented to all the relevant stakeholders.

Option 1 - Sports Category page

The existing Sports Category page is repurposed to be Euros focused with all relevant content in one place, whilst at the same time showcasing The Tour de France (which started two week after the Euros) and other sports content.

This would be linked from a secondary CTA on the homepage hero, a tile on the homepage, as well as the Category tabs.

Option 2 - Euros Collection Page

A bespoke Euros Collection page to be created, housing all relevant football content, as well as the existing Sports Category page containing aligned content.

This would be linked from a secondary CTA on the homepage hero and a tile on the homepage.

After review, it was decided that we would proceed with Option 1

Stakeholder review

High-fidelity prototypes of the proposed solution were presented in a follow-up stakeholder meeting. To streamline the user journey, avoid distracting users wanting to watch a live match, and reduce development time, the following design features were ultimately not included.