Sky Sports Fan Connect: Boosting User Engagement & Retention Through Fan Communities

Sky Sports - 2024

# UI Design

# UX Design

# UX Research

# Usability

# Web

# App

My Role

Lead UI Designer (Team of 6 designers)

Deliverables

User Research, Ideation, UI Design, Prototyping, User Testing, Stakeholder Management

Duration

Mar 2024 - May 2024

Overview

Sky Sports wanted to deepen connections with Gen Z football fans, who are digital natives who expect community, personalisation, and interactivity. We were challenged to reimagine the viewing experience to increase engagement and retention in a competitive subscription-based market.

The Brief: Building Community

🚧 The Problem
🚧 The Problem
  • Existing fan experiences don’t meet the expectations of highly engaged, social individuals.

🚧 The Problem
  • Existing fan experiences don’t meet the expectations of highly engaged, social individuals.

📜 The Requirements
📜 The Requirements
  • Not only to retain existing customers but also to attract new customers.

  • To remain competitive, stay relevant, and keep fans engaged.

📜 The Requirements
  • Not only to retain existing customers but also to attract new customers.

  • To remain competitive, stay relevant, and keep fans engaged.

Lean UX Design Process

“Build, Measure, Learn”

Research

The Brief

research Objectives

We conducted secondary research to understand the current user behaviours and to explore business opportunities (type of sports and the target users), and then conducted primary research to further uncover the target users' experience and expectations.

We conducted secondary research to understand the current user behaviours and to explore business opportunities (type of sports and the target users), and then conducted primary research to further uncover the target users' experience and expectations.

SECONDARY RESEARCH

Existing Solutions

  • Bingo

  • Reddit

  • Discord/Whatsapp

  • Bingo

  • Reddit

  • Discord/
    Whatsapp

Existing Solutions

  • Bingo

  • Reddit

  • Discord/Whatsapp

Trends & Gaps

  • UK #1 popular sport

  • Loved by Gen-Z

  • Viewing experience lacks innovation

  • UK #1 popular sport

  • Loved by Gen-Z

  • Lacks innovation

Social Interactions

  • Increased digitalisation

  • The popularity of user-generated content

  • Increased digitalisation

  • User-generated content

Social Interactions

  • Increased digitalisation

  • User-generated content

PRIMARY RESEARCH

We conducted 6 semi-structured interviews with Gen-Z football fans, and here are our insights:

We conducted 6 semi-structured interviews with Gen-Z football fans, and here are our insights:

👦🏼

Fans feel emotionally connected to football from a young age

👦🏼

Fans feel emotionally connected to football from a young age

💎

They crave affordable, flexible, and social viewing experiences

💎

They crave affordable, flexible, and social viewing experiences

👁‍🗨

They want freedom from distractions and ways to express loyalty

👁‍🗨

They want freedom from distractions and ways to express loyalty

These findings led to a clear persona and informed our design principles and success metrics.

These findings led to a clear persona and informed our design principles and success metrics.

Ideation

The Brief

User Needs

As a Gen-Z football fan...

As a Gen-Z football fan...

⚽️

I want to get closer to the sport and team I care about.

⚽️

I want to get closer to the sport and team I care about.

🧠

I want the means to become more knowledgeable about the teams I love to have more informed conversations with my peers.

🧠

I want the means to become more knowledgeable about the teams I love to have more informed conversations with my peers.

❤️

I want an experience that feels personal to me.

❤️

I want an experience that feels personal to me.

🧩

I want high-quality, flexible engagement experiences that both entertain and inform.

🧩

I want high-quality, flexible engagement experiences that both entertain and inform.

Design Principles & Success Metrics

Design Principles

Success Metrics

Belonging & Connected

Create community experiences that help fans feel part of something bigger

  • Number of watch parties created during the match

  • Number of non-Sky users joining invite links to participate in live chats or watch parties

  • Growth rate of user signups and registrations

Empowerment

Let fans express support and customise their experience

  • Number of users who engage with features that allow them to share their thoughts and opinions (e.g. live chats)

  • Number of purchases made by users from the item shop

Engagement

Make the viewing experience personal, flexible, and fun

  • Returning users creating watch parties

  • Number of users who participate in polls, predictions and, games during live games

  • Results from surveys measuring user satisfaction

Brainstorming WorkSHOP

During the ideation stage, we tried several methods to explore different design possibilities.

During the ideation stage, we tried several methods to explore different design possibilities.

Prioritisation

We ideated and prioritised features based on our design principles and success metrics.

We ideated and prioritised features based on our design principles and success metrics.

👑 Must Provide

Watch Party

Gamification

Fans Community

Live chats & reactions

Recognising the fans

Reward/Recognition System

Should Provide

Customising viewing experience of game

Customising audio experience of games

Sharing

Customisation and differentiation from different uses

Could Provide

Student Discount

Task Milestones

Won’t Provide

In-person experience

VALIDATION & ITERATION

The Brief

Mid-fi Wireframing & Prototyping

We create mid-fi wireframes and prototypes to validate assumptions, conduct usability testing, and gather insights for the user story with potential users.

Stakeholders' Feedback

We had weekly meetings with the Sky Sports UX team to present and discuss our process and design. The communication was effective, and we received inspirational questions and insightful feedback that helped us pivot our design.

ETHNOGRAPHY STUDY

🎯 The Objective

We observed users playing our Bingo-inspired mini-game BINGOAL during a live match.

💡 Key Outcome
  • Users became more attentive and invested

💡 Key Outcome
  • Users became more attentive and invested

🤔 Inspiration
  • Implement non-intrusive notifications

  • Provide alert for game achievement

🤔 Inspiration
  • Implement non-intrusive notifications

  • Provide alert for game achievement

USER STORY

Refined Information Architecture

User Testing

The Brief

Hi-fi Prototype Testing

We conducted 2 rounds of user testing and a live ethnography study to validate assumptions.

🎯 Main Objectives
  • Validate Assumptions

  • Validate iterations from mid-fi testing

  • Test out our high-fi prototype

🗒 Task
  • Task 1: Visibility of Profile page

  • Task 2: Usability of Watch Party

  • Task 3: Usability of Phone pairing

  • Task 4: Live chat functionality

Methods

It includes qualitative and quantitative methods (same as the 1st round) with 6 participants.

The Results

SUS Score

87.5 → 90.7

87.5 → 90.7

SUS Score

Average: 87.5/100

Completion Rates

77.9% → 100%

Average: 87.5/100

77.9% → 100%

Time Taken (s)

Averagely 20s more than the Optimal Time

Time
Taken (s)

Averagely 20s more than the Optimal Time

💬 Constructive Feedback

Seeing friends' statuses

“Would I be able to see if my friends are online watching a game? and can I join them?”

👍 Positive Feedback

All in one solution

“Everything that I want to do is all in one place and in one app. It’s cool that I can use my phone as well”

Love for the freedom of customisation

“I like that I can customise the widgets on the side panel so that I can just have what I want to see”

Final Solution

The Brief

Core Features

🖥️
Customisable Side Panel
  • Live chat, stats, recaps, mini-games—users choose what they want to see

  • Integrated with Sky Sports’ existing “Red Button” features

🎮
Mini-games + Point System
  • BINGOAL: Predict live match events, earn points

  • Cheering Competition: Tap to cheer when prompted during slower moments

  • Points unlock fan items (badges, chat stickers)

👥
Invite & Connect with Friends
  • Invite friends to watch

  • Join their parties even if they’re mid-match

  • Chat across devices in real time

cross-platform Experience: the Use Cases

cross-platform Experience:
the Use Cases

📲

From Laptop to Mobile

If the users are already logged into all their devices, they can easily join the watch party from their phone by opening the Sky Sports app and clicking on the in-app notification.

This will then prompt the user to add the phone as a secondary device to be used just for the side panel features, including the ongoing watch party, or to transfer the game and watch party to their phone. (The design is inspired by MS Teams)

💻

From Mobile to Laptop

When a user wants to switch from watching a game on their phone to a larger screen, they can login to the Sky Sports website and receive an in-app notification to access the game with one click.

Alternatively, they can use the 'Watch' tab on the website. Once they join the match on their laptop, the phone pairs and the game collapses on the phone, making the laptop the primary device.

Potential Impact

The Brief

VALUE PROPOSITION MAPPING 

cross-platform Experience:
the Use Cases

number of users

5M+

Downloads of Sky Sport App on Google Play

The Brief

Downloads of Sky Sport App on Google Play

#16

Sports App on App Store is the Sky Sport App

The Brief

Sports App on App Store is the Sky Sport App

49%

of UK football fans engaged with the sport online

The Brief

of UK football fans engaged with the sport online

Next Steps

The Brief

Expand features to other sports

Explore opportunities to expand the fan base.

Expand into other digital mediums and technologies (TV, VR, wearable devices).