OTT Streaming Platform - Scaling a Research-Led Subscription Experience Across Markets

Defining a scalable subscription and payment experience for a multi-market OTT platform through localized research and cross-functional alignment.

Role

Lead Product Designer & UX Researcher

Scope

Research strategy, experience architecture, stakeholder alignment.

Stage 1. Research & Market Insight

Conducted qualitative research with 25 participants across the Benelux region to uncover viewing behavior, payment expectations, and trust barriers in OTT services. Findings were benchmarked against leading platforms (Netflix, HBO, Videoland) to identify competitive gaps and regional differentiation opportunities.

Key insights revealed structural risks around onboarding friction, pricing transparency, and subscription vs. add-on confusion-critical factors directly impacting conversion and long-term retention.

Stage 2. Experience Strategy & Alignment

Partnered with stakeholders in Norway to align on three critical revenue-driving flows: onboarding, subscription and payment, and add-on content purchase. Through journey mapping and facilitated workshops, we evaluated multiple interaction models to balance clarity, flexibility, and commercial viability.

Strategic emphasis was placed on minimizing cognitive load during sign-up, reinforcing pricing transparency, and enabling cross-device continuity to support long-term engagement.

Stage 3. Experience Design & Validation

Designed end-to-end experience flows covering onboarding, payments, and add-on purchases, with a focus on reducing friction in conversion-critical moments. Interactive prototypes were used to simulate real user behavior and validate assumptions with stakeholders prior to development investment.

Visual exploration aligned with contemporary OTT patterns to ensure familiarity while preserving clarity and navigational efficiency.

Stage 1. Research & Market Insight

Stage 2. Experience Strategy & Alignment

Strategic emphasis was placed on minimizing cognitive load during sign-up, reinforcing pricing transparency, and enabling cross-device continuity to support long-term engagement.

Stage 3. Experience Design & Validation

Visual exploration aligned with contemporary OTT patterns to ensure familiarity while preserving clarity and navigational efficiency.

Stage 4. Testing, Iteration & Risk Reduction

Conducted two rounds of usability testing with the original participant group to validate onboarding and payment clarity. Initial testing exposed confusion around add-on pricing and subscription boundaries-representing a direct risk to conversion.

Iterations focused on flow separation, progress signaling, and simplified payment steps. Subsequent testing showed improved task completion and significantly reduced user uncertainty during purchase decisions.

Stage 5. Executive Readout & Enablement

Delivered a comprehensive decision-support package including research insights, journey maps, annotated prototypes, and usability outcomes. The documentation enabled stakeholders to move forward with confidence and provided a scalable foundation for expansion beyond the Benelux market.

Outcome & Impact

This project clarified how onboarding and payment transparency directly influence trust and conversion in competitive OTT markets. Localized research surfaced insights that global benchmarks alone would not have revealed, enabling more informed product and pricing decisions.

The resulting experience framework provided a scalable foundation for multi-market expansion while reducing ambiguity in subscription and add-on monetization models.

Outcome & Impact

The resulting experience framework provided a scalable foundation for multi-market expansion while reducing ambiguity in subscription and add-on monetization models.

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