[Case 02]
Sling TV – Personalization
Streaming
Sling TV
Boosting Conversion Rates for E-commerce Checkout
Streaming Dashboard & Channel Personalization
Sling TV pioneered live TV streaming but faces churn and low engagement compared to competitors like Hulu, YouTube TV, and Fubo. This redesign explored how to modernize the dashboard and channel surfing experience while honoring Sling’s legacy as the first cable-to-streaming platform.
[Problem Statement]
Sling TV struggled with user engagement and discoverability. Viewers found onboarding uninspiring, navigation cluttered, and lacked features for easily browsing channels within purchased bundles. This contributed to frustration, higher churn rates, and missed opportunities for channel exploration.
[Industry]
Streaming
[My Role]
Lead Designer
[Platforms]
Television
[Persona]
Linda Thompson
Occupation: Marketing Manager
“I miss flipping through channels to see what’s on.”
Age: 42
Location: Denver, CO
Tech Proficiency: Moderate
Married
[Goals]
Recreate the traditional channel surfing experience in streaming.
Access live TV quickly with minimal setup steps.
Stay loyal to Sling if it respects her established cable-viewing habits.
[Frustrations]
Finds streaming more complex than cable, with too many menus.
Frustrated that channel surfing isn’t possible in current apps.
Feels Sling’s onboarding is uninspiring and doesn’t clearly show value.
[Process]
[Measurement Plan (KPIs)]
Increase in channel exploration within bundles.
Higher completion of onboarding flow.
Reduction in churn through improved engagement.
Stronger satisfaction with discoverability
[Competitor Analysis]
Evaluated Hulu, Fubo, YouTube TV, DirecTV Stream. Findings showed:
Hulu excels at personalization.
YouTube TV has intuitive onboarding.
Fubo focuses on live sports.
Opportunity: Leverage Sling’s cable legacy (channels) while modernizing navigation and onboarding.
[User Feedback]
User feedback and research revealed:
Users miss channel surfing nostalgia.
Onboarding felt uninspiring compared to competitors.
Dashboard lacked clarity on bundles and recommendations.
[Heuristic Evalutation & IA
Heuristic Evaluation of Sling TV's current platform revealed the following issues:
Status visibility: Onboarding lacked progress indicators.
Recognition: Content buried in menus required memory.
Control: Limited ways to exit or switch flows.
I streamlined IA into Dashboard, Channels, Profile. This prioritized two core journeys: quick discovery and nostalgic channel flipping. Channels became a top-level item to leverage Sling’s legacy strength.
[Wireframes]
[Onboarding]
[Features]
ZIP-Integration – Introduced a geolocation step to connect users with local teams and channels, which was not part of the original onboarding.
[Home]
[Features]
Replaced the original sidebar with a top navigation bar for cross-platform consistency and more space for content.
Expanded and repositioned featured content to surface personalized recommendations more prominently.
[Live Stream]
[Features]
[Guide]
[Features]
Added sorting and multi-genre filters above the guide to support more targeted browsing.
Simplified card design by removing non-essential labels and shortening progress lines to make live content easier to identify.
[Channels]
[Features]
Added a persistent Channels tab so users can browse channels directly, instead of finding it buried on the homepage.
Replaced rectangular thumbnails with circular icons featuring Sling’s antenna branding to provide quick recognition and reinforce brand identity.
[Targeted Outcomes]