NBCUniversal + UserTesting

As it increasingly shifted from traditional broadcast media to digital media, NBCUniversal needed a way to more efficiently and cost-effectively target, sign, and retain digital customers.

First, NBCUniversal wanted to better attract subscribers by delivering more impactful messages to the right viewers, at the right time.

Second, it needed to increase new customer conversions by providing a simpler, more straightforward registration flow.

And third, it needed to seamlessly deliver across multiple platforms more personalized communications that spotlighted for each subscriber the NBCUniversal offerings most likely of interest to them—from premium video content to giveaways, sweepstakes, sponsorships, and opportunities to interact with NBCUniversal shows. In addition, NBCUniversal wanted a way to nimbly and intelligently pivot its personalized offerings when needed, such as when the COVID-19 pandemic presented an unexpected opportunity for NBCUniversal to enhance its LIVE TV experience.

With UserTesting, NBCUniversal constantly iterates, enhances, and evolves the UX for its “Identity Program” that’s featured on NBC Broadcast Network’s digital apps, website and on their social media channels. They consistently test Identity flows to optimize content across these channels and improve ease of use for visitors while delivering maximum value.

NBCUniversal also quickly and easily runs tests comparing the NBC Identity experience flow to those of its key competitors in order to ferret out which specific features users prefer, and why.

And it relies upon perspective delivered by UserTesting to unequivocally settle critical debates between NBCUniversal Product and UX teams: when they, for instance, disagreed what to name the three free “credits” new digital viewers receive when they register—knowing any ambiguity could present a barrier to conversion—they ran a UserTesting test on different terminology options to determine which one was most clear for users.

More recently, COVID-19’s shelter-in-place prompted viewers to watch significantly more TV and videos. To quickly enhance its LIVE TV experience for this captive audience, NBCUniversal’s UX Team tapped UserTesting’s Live Conversation feature to dissect how users discovered and engaged with the LIVE TV feature from within apps.

As a result, now the LIVE TV shelf and tile offerings are presented earlier in the user experience, and the LIVE offering is featured more prominently throughout the home screen and app. Perhaps most notably—based upon UserTesting-driven feedback—NBCUniversal soon will allow users to preview LIVE streams by signing up for an NBCUniversal Identity rather than needing to authenticate through their own cable provider.

UserTesting enables NBCUniversal to validate UX hypotheses and theories—and either challenge or confirm Product/UX speculations and presumptions—based upon easy-to-obtain, valid, and humanized insights from real users.

Product and UX teams now can effectively interact with and hear feedback directly from users, easily examine user interactions with NBCUniversal’s products and features, and quickly learn from explicit as well as implicit user feedback.

The resulting optimized user flows, improved user journeys, and enhanced overall experience have driven millions of new digital subscriptions for NBCUniversal to date, with the UX team enjoying a big boost to their internal credibility and user expertise to boot.