Mixed-Methods for FAST Positioning and Growth: Samsung TV Plus
Key Decision: Welcome & Value Prop
Original TV Plus welcome screen clarified “Free TV. No login” with an immediate Start Watching path. This set the expectation for instant, no-friction viewing.
Key Decision: Surface Placement
Placed the TV Plus pane at the far left, adjacent to the main navigation. This matches left-to-right scanning heuristics and puts TV Plus directly in the startup path. Default focus lands here to lift consideration and trial, while third-party apps remain clearly visible to the right..
Key Entry Point: On-screen CTA during playback
A subtle prompt at the lower left uses the familiar up/down remote heuristic to open the menu or guide. Video continues playing so users can explore without losing context. This created a second fast path to browse channels and on-demand content while keeping startup auto-play brief and easy to exit.
Key Pattern: Fast path to play + browse
Selecting any channel plays instantly, with the guide one click away. After selection, a mini-guide surfaces related content, and the Discover button opens the full guide. This “play now, browse next” pattern matched our speed-to-content benchmark and increased exploration without lock-in.
Brand outcome: cinematic, content-first UI
Darker background aligned with how people think about movies and theaters. It improved legibility and let posters pop. Hover auto-play worked like a quick “trailer,” raising consideration without lock-in. We shifted from channel logos to real show and movie art with contextual rails (On Now, Live, Recently Watched). Labels like Free Movies made value obvious and pulled more first-time entries.
Focus:
Startup placement & auto play | Guide & channel strategy | Ad experience & brand clarity
Approach:
Mixed methods | Generative and evaluative | Competitive benchmarking
Methods:
In-home observation | Lab usability on first-run and daily startup | Surveys & behavioral log analysis
Challenge:
Samsung TV Plus was shifting from a paid rental app to a free, ad-supported destination that appears both as an app and via auto-play at startup. The first goal was positioning: place TV Plus in the natural path at startup to maximize consideration and traffic without disrupting the startup experience or hiding other apps. Key questions: which habitual heuristics do viewers rely on at startup, where should TV Plus sit in that flow, and what happens to consideration when it is placed directly in the user’s path. We also needed to determine if brief auto-play would help consideration, and if so, whether to surface the most recent (user-preferred) or best-of content. To attract and engage more users, we needed to validate whether tiles with real movies or TV shows outperform channel logos, which labels (for example “Free Movies”) best communicate value, which content types drive first-time and repeat entry, and how brand promise and look should evolve to support “free, instant, no login.”
Process:
I led a mixed-methods program covering placement and startup behavior, guide IA, channel-row defaults, recommendation placement, ad timing and labeling, content mix, and brand positioning. Methods included in-home and lab studies of first-run and daily startup to map habits and exit paths, iterative guide usability, tile and label experiments (channel logos vs real show or movie art; testing “Free Movies” and related value labels), surveys tied to behavioral logs to prioritize content needs, and a competitive benchmark of Pluto, YouTube TV, TV Plus, and Xumo to identify fast “speed-to-content” patterns that encourage exploration without lock-in. We specifically tested auto-play that was brief and predictable, tuned to either most-recent user preference or best-of content. I also ran brand look-and-feel research that informed a darker UI, a new logo, and messaging aligned to the value proposition.
Impact:
Startup guidelines made auto-play brief, predictable, and easy to exit; TV Plus entry points were elevated on the home surface; guide layout and channel rows were refined to speed time-to-view and broaden exploration. An ad playbook set between-show timing and clear labels to protect trust and session health; brand and messaging landed “free, instant, no login” to drive trial. Public outcome:
Samsung announced 88M monthly active users with 50%+ YoY viewership growth and TV Plus as the #1 most-used app on Samsung TVs in the U.S. (Oct 28, 2024).
In 2025, Samsung reported nearly 700 U.S. channels, 3,500+ global channels across 30 countries, 30%+ YoY engagement growth in Q1, ~70% growth in on-demand titles, and a 177% YoY increase in hours viewed