Bespoke frontend OTT apps for a leading broadcast ministry, streamlining navigation, improving content discoverability, and delivering a custom brand-consistent experience.
The Grace to You radio and television programs are aired thousands of times per day in English and Spanish, reaching twenty-seven countries. The GTY mobile app has 2.5 million installs and streams an average of 780,000 broadcasts and sermons each month. The ministry's content includes audio and video broadcasts, sermon archives, a 24/7 live stream channel, occasional live event broadcasts, conference videos, and text-based content such as articles and devotionals from Pastor John and contributing authors.
The previous GTY mobile app had been made with an out-of-box platform that allowed for minimal white-label customization, and as a result the app had the same look and feel as many other similar ministries (as well as many churches). The GTY Apple TV app was similarly bare-bones with a standard native tvOS interface.
GTY's internal digital team had been laying the groundwork for an app overhaul by migrating to a new Media Asset Management platform and building out other backend architecture, but they needed a frontend development partner with expertise in designing and engineering over-the-top (OTT) streaming apps. The app would need to expand on the OTT model by supporting text-based resources as well.
The project kicked off with initiative planning sessions in which the design and engineering leads met with the client to understand high-level initiatives and define outcomes. With an MVP roadmap in place, I began the design phase. Working within the client's style guide and collaborating with their internal UI designer, we ensured the app interface would capture the organization's distinguished brand and flow seamlessly with media cover art and other assets. High-fidelity prototypes for both TV and mobile enabled stakeholders to interact with the apps, reviewing everything from styling to transitions and movement. Once design prototypes were approved, our engineering team began developing the components and screens according to lean agile methodologies.
The initial-release apps were completed within a nine-month project schedule and on-budget. As a result, Grace to You now has a suite of apps that are custom-tailored to their content and brand, designed and built with a level of quality and attention to detail reflective of Pastor MacArthur's well-respected 50-year teaching ministry.
