Entertainment apps account for about one of every five non-gaming app downloads and nearly 50% of spend worldwide as of 2021. Media and entertainment is an evolving sector that has mobile as the primary battleground among media giants.
Are you interested in building a custom app for media and entertainment? If you need inspiration, here are some lessons you can take from the most popular media and entertainment apps on the market – Netflix, Spotify, YouTube, Hulu, Disney Plus, and Twitch.
Netflix
Netflix is a streaming media service that was a trendsetter in the world of customer engagement. One of the best aspects of Netflix relates to user experience (UX). The clean, minimalistic user interface (UI) and segmentation with categories like “Your List,” “Recommended,” and “Popular Among Users” make finding new content quick and easy.
Using a specialized algorithm, Netflix analyzes the users’ habits, searches, watch history, and interests to provide personalized recommendations. And with the overwhelming amount of content available now, when users get decision paralysis, they can simply ask Netflix to show them something based on their previous viewing history.
Netflix is also accessible. It’s available on virtually every device and platform, allowing users to access the content they want from any device and any location, which is important for an enjoyable media experience.
Spotify
Spotify is one of the top-performing media and entertainment apps for music, podcasts, and other audio experiences. It’s easy to navigate its library of over 80 million tracks, thanks to a comprehensive and user-friendly interface.
Similar to the vast library of series and movies, Spotify simplifies music discovery with filters to weed out unwanted genres and help users find the music or podcasts they want quickly and easily.
With seamless social media integration, Spotify syncs to platforms like Facebook and Twitter to share playlists and individual song titles with friends and family. This also helps new artists gain more exposure, which makes it a desirable platform for them as well.
Spotify has a distinctive and visually appealing colour scheme that’s consistent across its brand for more user association. All marketing channels, including social media, use this colour scheme to build a sense of trust and familiarity.
YouTube
YouTube is one of the “original” social media apps that helped with the rapid rise of social media in general. There’s a huge and diverse selection of content that appeals to its massive audience – making it one of the most-visited websites in the world.
One of the key components of YouTube’s success is the user-friendly interface that features a search bar and engaging thumbnail displays of trending videos. This interface reveals why it’s so important to have a simple, straightforward website design that makes navigation easy.
YouTube is always adding new features and functionalities as well, such as “Shorts,” a feature designed to compete with the rise of short-form content on TikTok. Users can create short, vertical videos that mimic this style, giving audiences bite-sized content instead of long-form videos if they prefer. As a result, users are more engaged and get the most relevant experiences.
With mobility, YouTube is also ahead of its competitors with top-notch mobile-friendly streaming capabilities and a mobile-optimized app that pairs perfectly with smartphones. Users can watch whatever content they want from any device or platform, stream content from their computer or phone to their smart TV, or upload and share new content on the channel.
Hulu
Hulu is a major competitor for Netflix and one of the most popular streaming platforms. Similarly, it offers an extensive library of movies and series, including exclusive content for subscribers and a subscription option for live TV and sports.
When it comes to minimalism, Hulu has it locked down with an uncluttered, easy-to-navigate design that helps users find content based on type, genre, trending, categories, and more. The homepage has a limited selection of content that’s most relevant to the user’s past viewing history, but there’s plenty more with genre or specific searches.
One of the major benefits of Hulu is that it has highly attuned algorithms that factor into the user’s search history and preferences. This leads to more relevant suggestions, fast content discovery, and a better chance of users finding what they want.
Disney Plus
Though newer than Hulu and Netflix, Disney Plus has become a major competitor from one of the top media and entertainment brands in the world. It quickly gained market share from long-standing streaming services, thanks in part to exclusive content from popular properties like Star Wars.
Disney Plus has a distinctive look that reflects the look of Disney itself. At a glance, users can tell it’s connected to the wildly popular Walt Disney company, but it’s also highly functional. There’s a search bar and segmentation for content in a helpful grid format. Content is even grouped into specific properties like Disney films, Star Wars, Marvel, and NatGeo.
Disney Plus also presents new content with large trailers above the grid to entice viewers to try something new. Then, if users pan over a title, they get short teaser trailers that give them a feel for the content before clicking to read a description or watch a full trailer.
Like other apps, Disney Plus presents new content to users based on their previous viewing history. On a feature page, users can see information about the title, such as cast and crew, as well as behind-the-scenes content and recommendations for similar titles.
Twitch
Twitch is a popular streaming platform that grew among online gamers and influencers, but it’s expanding into other genres. It’s still prioritizing connecting gamers worldwide via live streaming and chat, allowing a community to engage with other gamers and watch live gameplay.
Because gaming is a long and involved experience, Twitch’s platform is designed to keep users engaged for long periods. This happens through interactive features like emotes, chats, and notifications. These elements encourage users to stay active while watching streams and provide a connection with the streamer in real time.
In addition, Twitch has more gamification tools, such as badges, achievements, and competitions to keep viewers engaged.
Take Inspiration from These Top Media and Entertainment Apps
Regardless of your industry, great design can make or break your user experience. Taking inspiration from these top media and entertainment apps can help you build a similarly strong UX and UI design.
Author Bio
Rachel Valentine
Rachel Valentine is General Manager and Head of People Operations at Vincit US. She was integral to Vincit’s expansion in the Orange County, California and Arizona markets. During her time, Vincit has been recognized by Fast Company as a Best Workplace for Innovators 2020, and by Inc. Magazine as a Best Workplace in 2019. Vincit has also received workplace and culture-focused awards from Orange County Business Journal, Orange County Register, Tech in Motion and more.