On with the show
Digital brand, mobile & TV app design and development
We helped a global media company deliver a bold new approach to video-on-demand and streaming in New Zealand that not only delights customers but excites advertisers, and is built with modern technology that will serve them now and into the future.
Tuned in
ThreeNow is Warner Bros. Discovery’s free streaming platform in NZ. It features shows from across their channels (including Three, eden and Rush), which can be watched live or on-demand, via a range of devices, such as smartphones, tablets, Apple and Android TV, and web.
We first began working with the ThreeNow team back in 2016 to help them modernise their entire digital product portfolio. In the years that followed, we continued working together, supporting them with updates and maintenance.
In 2020, the television assets were bought Discovery Inc., which then merged with Warner Bros. in 2022, providing new content and a new opportunity in a changing television landscape.
Ready to reconnect
At the time, competition was heating up for New Zealand streaming services, with major international streamers entering the market and local competitors investing significantly in their platforms.
As part of that shift, WBD recognised the need to reconnect with viewers and reignite interest in the ThreeNow offering.
The perfect pivot
They also recognised that thanks to the rise in the number of streaming platforms, each offering vast amounts of choice, many viewers were experiencing decision fatigue. To counter this, they wanted to pivot their product and deliver a new form of ‘lean back TV’, resembling a traditional broadcast approach, where people could switch on and simply tune into channels that are already playing, rather than having to select something from a catalogue of content.
The Alphero approach
Our pitch to WBD was: we’ll partner with you to not just reach parity with market players, but go even further, to deliver a distinct offering that will set you apart from the competition. At the same time we’ll modernise your complete tech stack so that you’re all set to support your future vision.
Our scope included a redesign of the experience that would span across every endpoint - from mobile phone, to web, to television, to Playstation - as well as a plan for how we could update and leverage their existing iOS and Android codebases as the foundation for the new consumer experience.
Brilliant browsing
Building on their ‘lean back’ approach, we created a concept called ‘mega browse’ - allowing viewers to search the site not only by channel but by category. They could pick their preferred genre, eg ‘drama’ and see all of the live ‘drama’ content previewed, or simply choose the ‘drama’ channel and have shows continuously play.
We also explored how WBD could offer a more curated, localised and personalised experience for every viewer.
Augmented ads
On the advertising side, we looked at innovative new ways that people could view ads and participate in the experience, on their own terms, as well as identifying new opportunities for advertisers, that would help support ThreeNow’s ad-funded business model.
Bringing the bling
During this period, WBD were also in the midst of a brand refresh for Three and ThreeNow. We worked with their brand team to adapt their new visual identity for the digital space.
While adhering to their brand guidelines, we were able to experiment with colours, shapes and animations and add a layer of personality and character in the interface that many other streaming services lack - helping ThreeNow stand out from the crowd and ensure that the experience looked, felt and moved like a premium video on demand service.
Updating the base
We knew that all endpoints (channels and technologies) needed a comprehensive development overhaul if we were going to enable the best user experience and provide a consistency of function and experience across every type of device.
One of our objectives, however, was to achieve this without needing to throw out their existing platform and start from scratch. Instead we were able to set them up with modern code bases leveraging Android Compose with Kotlin, and upgrading legacy iOS code from Objective-C to Swift - all built on their current base.
Keeping it consistent
Given that our designers were supporting multiple development teams, to build out more than 13 endpoints, we created a tokenised design system optimised for every technology platform (including smart televisions with limited processing capacity).
These tokens captured all the design details for each layout - from colour to heading size, to font - which the developers could then apply across each endpoint, with the code changing dynamically to adapt to the screen size in question.
This fast tracked development across all workstreams, ensured consistency of brand experience regardless of the channel or platform, and turned our mobile developers into converts for a good design system!
An entertainers delight
Viewers now have amazing new functionality at their fingertips including advanced content curation capability, automatic episode links for uninterrupted viewing, and premium quality picture resolution.
Alongside the entertainment experience the platform now boasts world-leading advertising innovation, designed to achieve even better results for brands.
From a development point of view, we haven’t just put the polish on top, we’ve fundamentally improved the underlying foundation.
ThreeNow now has an awesome platform to keep building on, and thanks to the design tokens, they can continue to seamlessly update their design and deliver beautiful and consistent layouts with ease.
