The Importance of User Experience in OTT Platform Success

If you're looking to create your own OTT media channel, you must consider user experience in your channel's design. While your channel's overall design might be dictated to an extent by the platform you choose, you will have considerable freedom to organize your content and add features to make the experience more enjoyable. Even if your content is great, if your platform doesn't produce a positive experience, viewers will look elsewhere for something to watch.

The Importance of User Experience in OTT Platform Success

The OTT Media User Experience Is Everything

As Smart TVs, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and more OTT platforms proliferate, there's no shortage of channels to choose from. This means you face increased competition. A great user experience will go a long way to bringing viewers back to your channel. Conversely, a poor user experience will keep users from coming back.

OTT media platforms give you considerable freedom to personalize your channel's layout and features. However, just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should. Consider a few of the key factors that create a positive user experience on OTT platforms.

Speed Matters

A recent study found that the average OTT viewer spends almost 6 minutes trying to find something to watch. This means you have a relatively short window of opportunity to get a viewer settled into the couch with your content on the screen.

If you can deliver quality content quickly, users will love it. Personalized recommendations based on previous sessions can be extremely helpful. Choose a platform that allows users to flag content as a favorite or save content for later, and put those videos at the top of your channel page. How many clicks does it take to get to your content? Fewer clicks means a better experience.

Organizing Content for User Friendliness

Content diversity is important for reaching a wider audience. Nevertheless, if you have a diverse library of content, it can make it difficult for viewers to find what they're looking for. Organize your content into clear categories. If the name of a series doesn't give enough context, consider adding a brief subtitle to the category to make it clearer for new viewers.

Horizontal scrolling is a common feature on OTT platforms. Consider which videos to put first on the left. Put the most recently published videos first if viewers can enjoy the content without seeing previous episodes. News programs routinely do this. However, for a fiction series, do the opposite, so users can start with the first episode. Another option is to put the most popular episode of a series on the left, which can be useful for attracting new viewers.

Use Ads Carefully

Free ad-supported television (FAST) channels are growing in popularity. Since users don't need a subscription, they can simply click and play. However, if you have too many ads, you can easily turn viewers away for good. Having a premium subscription option without ads synergizes well with the FAST strategy. If users want to say goodbye to ads, they can pay for your channel. Mid-tier options with a monthly fee and some ads, though, can irritate viewers if ads are abundant.

Working with OTT experts can help you craft a better user experience. Schedule a callback with Lightcast.com to talk to our team and learn how we can help your content reach new heights.