How streaming services design interfaces to keep us watching

On just one day this spring, at the height of global stay-at-home orders for Covid-19, Americans watched 27 billion minutes of streaming video. Dozens of online streaming services court us with an ever increasing amount of television and film content. And yet, more streaming services are coming online. But in the battle to win over subscribers (and our subscription dollars), how much of a role can good UX interface design play in crowning a video streaming champion? Does the best interface matter, or is content truly king?

In this episode: 

The Wireframe team get together online and try to watch a TV show together using Scener, even though they all live in different parts of the continent. 

Wireframe producer Dominic Girard and host Khoi Vinh trade thoughts on the UX of streaming.

Daniel Strickland, CEO of Scener, explains how they've designed a user experience that is basically bolted on top of a video streaming service's own UX. 

Then, CEO and UX designer Thomas Williams of Ostmodern; streaming video analyst and reporter Dan Rayburn; and writer Suzanne Scacca use a few examples of the Netflix and Quibi interfaces to explore how each platform is trying to attract and retain subscribers. 

We then discuss why Netflix is considered a gold standard, and whether or not Quibi is doomed to fail - or is just getting warmed up. 

Read the PDF transcript of this episode.

Wireframe reveals the stories behind user experience design and how it helps technology fit into our lives. It’s a podcast for UX/UI designers, graphic designers, and the design-curious. Hosted by Khoi Vinh, one of Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People in Business.

Learn more about designing with Adobe XD at adobe.ly/tryxd.