Why OS Fragmentation Could Be Costing You Sports Viewers...

...and how a simple UX strategy could be the future of smart TVs.

Sports fans want their sports. They want them now. They want them simply and quickly and they want control over the access. They don't want complication. They don't want to spend ten minutes authenticating, when they could be drinking a beer, dropping a nacho on the floor and watching the best of every magical sports moment.

That desire for speed and frictionless entry has led many consumers back to the big screen, back to good old TV, and signals a return to a more simplified sports streaming experience.

According to Hub Entertainment Research 2024 Connected Home report, 88% of Smart TV owners now use built-in streaming.

But here's the rub. A fan's user experience often depends on whether their TV’s OS can handle the demands of today’s sports apps and UX features.

As if apps and connected devices were not enough, now, the fragmentation of operating systems (OS) in the Smart TV ecosystem is creating significant challenges for distributors, advertisers, and consumers alike. The impact is especially felt in the sports experience.

With TVs from Samsung, Sony, Hisense, and Philips dominating retail spaces like Walmart, Costco, and Best Buy, the variety of OS options such as Tizen (Samsung), Android/Google TV (Sony and Philips), Vidaa (Hisense), and proprietary OSs complicate the landscape.

Especially for those of us who design these experiences for our sports audiences.

Samsung, for example, uses its closed Tizen OS on all Smart TVs, creating a walled garden effect, making integration of apps and sports experiences more complex compared to open systems like Google TV. Android-based OS, found in Sony, Hisense, and Philips TVs, allows greater flexibility, but each manufacturer’s customization means users face uneven app experiences depending on the brand.

This fragmentation not only affects the consumer’s viewing experience but also presents significant hurdles for advertisers looking to run interactive or targeted ads.

As UX strategists, researchers, designers and product developers, we know you consume sports content on many different devices.

• You watch your favorite football team on the big screen.
• You check your NCAA bracket on your computer at work.
• You load up the multi-view on Premier League Boxing day.
• And you check the fantasy scores under the table at the restaurant on your phone.

We know. We see you. (We are you). And we know content discovery across devices, services and platforms is a major challenge. Go ahead, let's just say it...

The game is on! But where the hell is it?

In a fragmented environment, it is evermore critical that we anticipate the design of a cohesive experience across platforms. Yet, as distributors we are also forced to create multiple versions of our apps for each OS, which increases costs and delays in updates.

Smart TV operating system (OS) fragmentation is creating friction across the UX landscape, and its impact is especially felt by sports fans.

Major brands like Samsung (Tizen), Sony (Android/Google TV), Hisense (VIDAA), and Philips each operate on proprietary or heavily modified OS platforms, creating a patchwork of user experiences.

As of 2023, Samsung leads in market share, accounting for 19.6% of the global Smart TV market, followed by Sony and Hisense with 8.5% and 6.2%, respectively.

Retail giants like Walmart, Costco, and Best Buy dominate Smart TV sales in the U.S., with Walmart reporting 29% of total Smart TV purchases in 2023.

But this fragmentation is more than a technical hurdle—it’s a UX dilemma. Sports fans, who demand fast, intuitive navigation, are left grappling with inconsistencies across devices.

A Samsung user might find live sports streaming seamless, while a Hisense owner could face issues with app compatibility or performance.

For advertisers, this inconsistency dilutes the effectiveness of targeted campaigns, and for distributors, it complicates app development, as tweaking for multiple OS versions increases costs and time-to-market.

Design thinking and UX strategy needs to adapt. It is no longer just about personalization through algorithms and chronologically based faceted search. Rather it's about anticipating the user entry points and holding space for the human being holding the remote to help craft and co-create their sports experience.

One potential solution lies inclusive design, where Smart TVs could preemptively adapt based on a combination of user entry points, a user created profile and user behavior.

Imagine a Smart TV that recognizes you as a sports fan based on your own profile. One you help to create, which also aggregates your viewing patterns and dynamically arranges your homepage with live scores, real time upcoming match schedules, or even shortcuts to your favorite sports streaming apps.

I like to call this UX principle "step in comfort." It's like putting on your running shoes and knowing immediately, you're ready to run.

There are a lot of ways to do this. A couple of them are unbelievably technically simple. But however these experiences are designed and developed, an inclusive UX design strategy still personalizes the experience, but also creates some standardization across fragmented ecosystems, making content more discoverable and accessible.

This shift toward more inclusive and predictive interfaces could transform how sports fans engage with live events, simplifying their journey in an increasingly complex Smart TV environment.

Creating a platform experience without requiring the user to dig through a multitude of apps and without making assumptions exclusively via an algorithmic history is a win. A big win for the smart tv buyer and a win for the media industry. And most of all a win for sports and sports fans.