Redesigning the Core Experience of UK Television
Designing one of the UK’s most influential television platforms—redefining how millions of households navigate live TV, catch-up and on-demand content.
Problem
The legacy YouView platform was built for a linear broadcast model.
Navigation was slow. Discovery was fragmented.
Users moved between channels, catch-up, and on-demand with high friction.
At the same time, viewing behaviour had already shifted.
Research showed TV is driven by distinct need states—from passive unwinding to active discovery and shared viewing
The platform could not support this range of behaviours.
A fundamental shift was required—from channel navigation to content discovery.
Context
YouView is one of the UK’s largest television platforms, backed by BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, BT and TalkTalk. YouView is a hybrid UK TV Set Top Box platform serving over 7 million users across BT, TalkTalk and retail devices.
The “Next Gen” initiative re-architected the platform into a cloud-based HTML5 system, enabling:
faster release cycles (months → days)
cross-device expansion
scalable IP-delivered content
This introduced new complexity:
broadcast + IP convergence
multi-stakeholder requirements
accessibility and regulatory constraints
The product needed to evolve without breaking familiar behaviours.
My Role
Head of Product Design
I led UX and interaction design across multiple areas of the platform, including:
EPG (programme guide) navigation
content discovery and IA
TV interaction models (focus, navigation, layout)
IP channel integration
early mobile strategy and second-screen concepts
I worked closely with product, engineering and architecture teams to define both:
the user experience vision and the underlying interaction model for television.
Process
Behaviour-led design
We grounded the experience in real viewing behaviour.
Need states such as unwind, distract, comfort and escape informed how users discover and consume content
System-first design
We approached the platform as a system, not a set of screens.
Key constraints included:
d-pad navigation
large-screen readability
limited input speed
We validated solutions through high-fidelity prototypes, focusing on navigation clarity and motion.
Cross-functional alignment
I led workshops across:
engineering
data science
product and legal
This ensured solutions were viable across:
broadcast and IP delivery
ISP-specific requirements
accessibility standard
The venue for the one of the offsite workshops had a radio station in the building. And we got to bump into Taylor Swift.
Cross-device strategy
We identified structural limitations in the set-top box experience.
I initiated early exploration of mobile as a companion layer:
faster content discovery
remote control interaction
second-screen engagement
Key Design Decisions
The EPG as the anchor
Rather than replacing the programme guide, we evolved it.
The scroll-back EPG became the core interaction model:
navigate forward → live TV
navigate backward → catch-up
This created a seamless bridge between linear and on-demand content.
Content over channels
We introduced a discovery layer focused on:
recommendations
curated content
visual browsing
This shifted the mental model from:
“What channel is it on?” → “What do I want to watch?”
Focus-driven interaction system
We defined clear rules for:
focus states
navigation hierarchy
directional movement
This ensured users always understood:
where they were
what was selectable
how to move next
Consistency across delivery types
IP channels were designed to feel identical to broadcast channels. Video On Demand content was matched to linear content.
Despite technical complexity, the experience remained:
invisible, seamless, and predictable to the user.
TV + Mobile ecosystem
We recognised early that TV alone was not enough.
Mobile was positioned as:
a faster input layer
a discovery tool
a companion experience
This laid the groundwork for future multi-device ecosystems.
Outcome
The Next Generation UI transformed YouView from a broadcast interface into a hybrid TV platform.
It enabled:
unified navigation across live, catch-up and on-demand
faster content discovery
a more visual, modern interface
a scalable foundation for future features
The design system and interaction patterns established here influenced:
future YouView iterations
partner platforms (BT, TalkTalk)
broader TV interface design approaches
Impact
The redesign delivered measurable improvements at scale:
+6% increase in minutes watched
96% user satisfaction (CSAT)
millions of devices upgraded without hardware replacement
Beyond metrics, the impact was strategic:
positioned YouView as a leading UK TV platform
enabled transition from broadcast → hybrid streaming
established design foundations still relevant in modern OTT platforms
Awards
National Technology Awards
YouView
The T3 Awards 2017
Best TV Platform
