Field Trial of a New iTV Approach: The Potential of Its UX Among Younger Audiences

The actual video consumption behaviors are blurring the traditional boundaries between linear and non-linear viewing, leveraged by On-demand and Over-the-Top (OTT) content offers. The Managed-Operated Networks (MON) adapted to this shift by providing flexibility to content access via Catch-up and Time-shift TV services. In addition, manufacturers of Smart TVs and high-end media centers (e.g. Apple TV) are offering their commercial solutions with a silo-based approach, lacking a fluid User eXperience (UX) when the user switches between proprietary applications (apps) displaying different settings and User Interfaces (UIs). In this framework, OTT providers have been taking the lead on setting the trends with partially unified cross-source UIs, enriched with personalization features to enhance the UX. These trends also contrast with Pay-TV solutions based in UIs mostly oriented to the traditional TV channel’s line-up. Based on this opportunity, an operator-based iTV solution, delivered over a set-top box (STB), was developed within the UltraTV R&D project. This initiative brought together the academic and the industry fields to design, develop and validate a concept of a profile-based and cross-source recommendation UI (offering, at the same level, content from linear and non-linear TV, Netflix, YouTube and Facebook videos). After an iterative evaluation through expert reviews and laboratory tests, a field trial validation, with end users, of a fully functional prototype was set. Qualitative data collection methods along with a triangulation of UX scales were applied to gather opinions and measure usability, hedonic and emotional parameters. The results were arranged by age groups and viewing dynamics to reveal motivational indicators related to the achieved viewing experience. The unified access to different sources fostered content discovery and was particularly valued by younger audiences. The outcomes from this empirical study aim to provide valuable contributions to push the next generation of television platforms and bring younger audiences back to the TV screen.