Year:
2021
Industry:
Media
Company:
TalkSport
Methods:
Mixed-method user research
User experience
Workshop facilitation
UI design
Overview
News UK owns major UK media brands including The Times, The Sun, and talkSPORT, their flagship sports radio station. In 2021, the business saw video as a commercial opportunity and wanted to explore how it might work inside their core mobile experience.
The challenge
This was a proof of concept project. We needed to find out whether talkSPORT’s audio-first app could support a meaningful video experience — one that included short-form highlights and a live studio stream.
I was the only UX designer on the project. I ran the full process, from research and workshops through to design, prototyping, testing, and handover.
What made this tricky:
Technology
We had to use a basic third-party video CMS. Playback behaviour was locked down and couldn't be customised.Organisation
Video didn’t belong to anyone. Product, editorial, and commercial teams all had input, but no shared priorities.Design
The app’s primary navigation was already full, and mobile guidelines gave us no room to add a new tab without restructuring.Direction
There were no set KPIs. This project needed to set the baseline for future investment. Success wasn’t about shipping something perfect. It was about showing that video had legs.
Success Metrics (post-launch)
App downloads
Video ad revenue
Video watch time and starts
Internal buy-in to move talkSPORT TV forward
User research
To avoid wasting time building something nobody wanted, I kicked off with a combined research plan.
A quant survey sent to our 10,000-user panel brought back 300+ responses
I followed that with 15 one-to-one interviews focused on video habits, app use, and context of viewing
Highlights from the research:
People mostly watched video while commuting or passing time
Subtitles were expected as standard
Users didn’t search for specific clips. They clicked what was shown to them
Football highlights were in higher demand than live studio content
Most would watch more if the app suggested more relevant videos
Around half would register to access video if it felt worth it
Competitor and ecosystem analysis
To avoid designing in a vacuum, I audited both direct and indirect competitors. BBC Sport and Sky Sports gave us a clear picture of what users already expected. I also looked at how news and social apps handled content grouping, playback controls, and content recirculation.
Video categorisation and hierarchy
Playback and media controls
Content discovery and recirculation
Integration of video in article contexts
MVP-level implementations that delivered value fast
This helped frame the design direction and avoid reinventing the wheel.
Aligning Product and Editorial
To define a viable MVP and future vision, I facilitated two workshops:
Editorial workshop
Mapped existing high-performing content from the website, YouTube, and social to identify logical groupings and potential MVP video playlists.Product and stakeholder workshop
Shared user research and competitor insights with stakeholders from Product, Editorial, Engineering, and Commercial. Outcomes included:MVP scope and stretch goals
Monetisation expectations
Editorial priorities vs. UX hierarchy
Designing with constraints in mind
Navigation limitations
The app already had five items in the main nav, which is the platform limit. To make room for video, I proposed moving “Settings” into the header. I validated the change with quick usability testing. There was no drop in discoverability, so we moved ahead.
Wireframing
I mapped out flows and content hierarchy in low fidelity to keep the focus on structure rather than polish. This made it easier to test core interactions and get stakeholder alignment before refining visuals.
Testing with users
I ran remote usability tests with eight participants who fit our primary persona. I wanted to know if the structure made sense, if video felt discoverable, and how they interpreted the new content labels and layouts.
Key takeaways:
Most people skipped onboarding. It felt like friction
"Latest Video” was more popular than expected
Some got lost after navigating into the second level
The “TV” label confused people. It felt too narrow
Iconography didn’t clearly separate live and on-demand content
Too many play buttons made the interface feel messy
Changes I made
Dropped onboarding for now and flagged it as part of future, more robust onboarding strategy
Moved “Latest Video” higher up on the main page
Added page titles to make navigation clearer
Changed iconography to visually separate audio from video
Renamed the “TV” nav item to “Video”
Simplified how play buttons appeared across content
Final UI and prototype
I rolled insights into high-fidelity UI and built an interactive prototype to demo the flow. This helped stakeholders see the experience in full and gave engineers a clear reference for handover.
The work ended up shaping the product roadmap for talkSPORT TV. It was later used as a reference for other News UK radio brands exploring video.
Personal retro
What worked
This wasn’t just about adding video to an app. It was about proving that there was a real opportunity for video within a legacy platform. We found out that users were ready for it, editorial could support it, and there was a commercial model behind it.
The MVP showed that we could add value without breaking the existing experience. That was enough to push the business forward.
Learnings
Push harder early on to get a better video player. The limitations held us back later
Treat onboarding and user education as essential from the start, not an afterthought
Step back sooner and consider how this could have been built to scale across the wider Wireless brand ecosystem