What started as a back-of-the-napkin sketch for a glorified digital TV Guide of sorts, B/R Live quickly morphed from a scrappy start-up within Turner Sports into a digital streaming service transforming Bleacher Report from a social-first brand into a leading multi-platform sports destination offering live games. As one of the original five tapped to bring this product to market, my role was to lead the creative initiative and branding across our suite of digital platforms, and to oversee execution and delivery for my team of product designers. Because it was a start-up-like environment, at times I jumped back into product design myself, which was a treat!
An easy, intuitive onboarding process allowed users to pick the teams and leagues they were interested in. Their choices yielded a customized view of the games fans wanted to see.
In-app purchases allowed fans the ability to watch their favorite teams directly in the app. Users could choose to purchase a single game, a league pass, or a sport-wide pass.
Viewers could watch their game live in the app, or if they missed it, they could later access VOD footage through our library of archived games.
A running feed of upcoming, live, and VOD games on the left allowed fans to peruse their options while keeping an eye on the current game. B/R Live won "Best Website" in the 2018 Cynopsis Awards.
A robust search engine directed fans to a library of games, as well as offered suggested content based on a user's behavior.
On our CTV platform, we offered free viewing for a few months before enacting a pay wall so that users could try out the new service.
Eventually we added pricing (per game, league or sport).
Fans could select a game to purchase right in the connected TV app.