Modular Paywalls and Pre-Purchase Registration for ESPN+ Commerce Funnel

PAYWALL AND LOGIN FLOWS | LEAD DESIGNER

3 MONTH MVP AND LAUNCH

introduction

As a direct response to massive shifts in entertainment and technology, Disney began heavily investing in offering their content directly to their users- the ESPN+ subscription service and its content were integrated into the flagship ESPN iOS and Android apps in the spring of 2018, the first of The Walt Disney Company’s direct-to-consumer subscription service offerings. The subscription was integrated into a pre-existing app to maintain parity with the well-loved and familiar ESPN brand, utilizing a user base of +100 million monthly active users to attract 1 million paid ESPN+ subscribers in its first 5 months on the market.

the opportunity

Paywalls are the front door for many of ESPN’s commerce flows, educating and enabling fans to gain access to ESPN+ and Pay-Per-View content, so how might we modernize paywalls into a scalable solution that works today and will continue to be successful as ESPN offerings grow? By re-thinking ESPN+ mandatory registration flows and envisioning a paywall system that’s more iterative and flexible, there is clear opportunity to drive registrations for 100% of the subscriber user base...

  • while increasing conversion of users going through the flows to become ESPN+ subscribers and/or buy PPV and/or upgrade their subscription.

  • To provide a stronger, more robust, and also more flexible paywall services foundation for paywalls/payflows. 

the process

The old user payflows placed registration after the in-app purchase flow which resulted in anonymous users who were at risk for being double billed. And the previous paywalls were limited by the old technology that them inflexible and difficult to test. The main objectives for this modernization effort were:

  1. Craft modular paywall designs using new technology to enable A/B testing and rapid iteration from various user entry points that guide users through relevant upsell streams (e.g. if already a subscribed member, present only PPV vs PPV & ESPN+ Annual package offer).

  2. Implement mandatory ESPN account registration for users before they enter the paywall flow to ensure no users are double billed or anonymous in our ecosystem.

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Initial user research findings from 8 unmoderated user interviews revealed a need for in-app purchase commerce funnel to:

  1. Provide users with a clear overview of what steps are required to access content, identify the distinct steps needed (1. create account, 2. pay for subscription) and incorporate sign posting.

  2. Share important info earlier to help users make informed decisions

  3. Be transparent with pricing prior to asking users to create an account

  4. Strengthen relationships with users who opt out of subscribing.

These findings aligned with the initial project goal of providing users with paywalls that clearly present the value of ESPN account creation and subscribing to ESPN+ in a personalized way.

Initial paywall work was inspired updates made to the Nation Geographic and Marvel paywalls that had successfully conveyed subscriber value- these helped define an improved ESPN+ paywall flow for the ESPN apps

Improved User Payflow

Current Marvel Unlimited

Future ESPN

Current Nat Geo

Different paywall anatomies were subsequently explored to determined what modular components would be need to support the improved experience. As many already available components as possible were reused to ensure engineering delivery timelines remained realistic.

Modular design components were then finalized with product and engineering to ensure that they could support the needs of over a dozen different payflow entry points identified for launch.

Each paywall type was then built using these modular components, from event paywalls to personalized paywalls that utilized user identity profiles. The designs were then adjusted for iOS and Android native environments across phone and tablet.

Each payflow entrypoint resulted in a unique paywall showcasing an ESPN+ offering that would provide clear and concise value to users- event paywalls informed users that the title they’re interested in is available through ESPN+, pay-per-view paywalls make it easy for users to subscribe to ESPN+ so that they can purchase the fight they’re trying to watch, and upgrade paywalls show users how to increase the value they get from the ESPN app by subscribing to ESPN+. Upon entering the payflow to subscribe to ESPN+, users would see one of the following screens-

After entering the payflow and being taken to a personalized paywall, if users agree to the ESPN+ TOC and want to subscribe, they are then moved into the registration flow to either sign up for or log into an ESPN account before completing their subscription.

ESPN Account Sign-Up Flow (Post-Paywall, Pre-Purchase)

ESPN Account Log-In Flow (Post-Paywall, Pre-Purchase)

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the solution

After launching modular paywalls and pre-purchase registration for ESPN+, Disney Streaming Services A/B Testing functionality was integrated to determine which paywalls were driving the most conversions, with pay-per-view paywalls being a predominate location that users were converted to ESPN+ subscriptions. Because of the flexibility of the new paywall system, it is now possible to give users more info on all of the fights they get access to through ESPN+, and beyond pay-per-view paywalls there has been an increase in overall user understanding of ESPN+ offerings.

Since this project ended, modular paywalls and pre-purchase registration have also been released across web and ESPN connected devices apps such as Roku, tvOS, AndroidTV and FireTV. Any new double-billed users have been prevented by inserting ESPN account registration before in-app purchase in the ESPN+ commerce funnel.