First Impressions on the Big Screen: How to Nail OTT Onboarding
When it comes to Smart TV OTT apps, every second counts. Creating a good first impression is essential. In a space where users expect near-instant access to content, a slow or clunky onboarding experience can mean the difference between a loyal subscriber and a lost viewer.
At Magine Pro, we’ve worked with dozens of niche and mid-sized streaming services to elevate their Smart TV experiences. In this post, we’ll walk you through the key components of a successful onboarding flow and the friction points to avoid—especially for apps designed for the big screen.
The Friction Factor
Smart TVs are not mobile phones. Typing, tapping, and navigating with a remote control is inherently slower and more awkward. That means any unnecessary step or small delay feels amplified. The goal of onboarding should be to remove as much friction as possible.
So what are the common friction points?
- Forced registration before browsing
- Manual email/password entry using the TV remote
- Settings that don’t carry over from other devices
- Poor navigation and confusing menus
Each of these adds seconds (or even minutes) to the time it takes for a new user to reach content. Let’s look at how OTT services can save valuable seconds to make a real impact on engagement and retention.
1. Let Viewers Browse Before They Sign Up
Many OTT apps still ask for full registration before the user can do anything. If you have a marketing budget the size of Netflix or Disney, that’s fine: you can safely assume viewers will know at least some of the flagship content in your service before they download your app. But for AVOD services, and even smaller SVODs who hope users will find them because they’re featured in the Samsung or LG TV app store, it’s essential to tempt viewers in. Help them quickly answer the question: Is this service for me? What kind of content do they have?
We recommend enabling anonymous browsing to give potential users a feel for the platform before making a commitment. You can even allow limited content playback (e.g., trailers or selected episodes) to spark interest before login.
Benefits of anonymous access:
- Reduces the initial barrier to entry for a smoother first-time experience
- Gives users a reason to register (after seeing something they want to watch) for increased conversion rates
2. Don’t Make Them Reach for the Remote
One of the worst parts of Smart TV onboarding? Typing. Even if you’re doing all the initial sign-up on a PC or phone, it’s still painful to enter your username and password one letter at a time with a clunky remote. That kind of experience sends users running – especially if they’re sitting down because they want to watch something now.
QR code login flows are a great way to solve this challenge. Your Smart TV app displays a code on screen, which the user scans with their phone. New users are directed to sign up on their mobile interface. Existing users just sign in on the phone, and the TV app is instantly paired to their account.
This approach works because it:
- Removes painful remote typing
- Speeds up access to content
- Feels modern and user-friendly
You can see how we implemented this in practice in our case study.
3. Strive for Consistency Across Devices
Smart TVs are rarely the only screen your viewers use. They may have set subtitle preferences or created profiles for their household when they signed up via a web browser or on your mobile app. Forcing them to repeat all those steps on a new device creates frustration.
It’s far better to eliminate friction by syncing personal settings automatically when a user logs into a Smart TV app, even for the first time.
Key preferences to sync include:
- Preferred language for audio
- Subtitle visibility and size
- Profile selection
When users feel like the platform “remembers” them across screens, it builds trust. More importantly, it reduces the time spent finding and fiddling with settings before they can start watching.
4. Design for the “10-Foot” Experience
Smart TV UX is not a scaled-up mobile UI. It’s a unique use case that requires a clear layout, strong visual cues, and intuitive controls. Users are navigating with arrows, not fingers or even mouse clicks.
During onboarding, these design principles matter more than ever:
- Use familiar patterns: Keep menu structures and focus states predictable
- Prioritise clarity: Avoid clutter or dense text, especially in sign-up/sign-in forms
- Highlight content early: Use hero areas, featured carousels, or video previews to draw users in
- Show progress: If onboarding has multiple steps, make it clear where the user is in the process
If you’re introducing features like profile creation or onboarding tips, make them skippable or time-limited—nobody opens a Smart TV app hoping for a tutorial!
Want some more tips for improving your UX across both big screens and small? Download our UX guide, Behind the Screens, for more design principles.
Onboarding That Converts: Our Takeaways
A well-designed onboarding flow is your first chance to impress. Done right, it can turn a curious viewer into a loyal user in under 60 seconds. Done poorly, it can lead to drop-off before your app even shows its strengths.
So here’s a reminder of our recommendations:
- Let users browse (and maybe even watch) before they register
- Use QR login to eliminate remote-control pain
- Sync preferences to make the experience feel personal
- Keep visual layout clean and familiar for Smart TV use
- Avoid anything that delays content access
At Magine Pro, we’ve helped streaming services, both large and small, rethink their Smart TV experience to drive engagement, reduce churn, and meet user expectations from day one.
The onboarding process is just one of the areas to focus on. Want to see how these tips work in a live Smart TV app? Book a demo with our team and learn how Magine Pro helps OTT services build high-performing Smart TV apps.
