As the first French TV broadcaster, France Télevision wanted to enter the digital game as a serious contender. To do so, France Télévisions Éditions Numériques (FTVEN), a transversal unit within the group responsible for driving the uptake of digital, launched a strategic project: Francetv info live, a continuous, real-time news coverage platform available on mobile devices and online.

CHALLENGES

Digital technology has disrupted the way users consume information introducing live-news channels, connected users, new platforms and devices (web browsers, smartphones, tablets), and more. To catch up on its late digital presence, the company has adopted a resolutely forward-looking approach. This is why FTVEN wanted to develop an innovative platform, with a dedicated editorial staff and web-specialized journalists, where live content is the DNA of their core service.

METHODOLOGY AND OUTPUT

Our UX team started out by benchmarking existing live-news solutions, analyzing the task flow and organizing design workshops with the editorial staff. They followed designing prototypes and wireframes of interfaces – all through a daily collaboration with the journalists.

Our technical team then designed and developed a custom real-time content management system that enables journalists to efficiently monitor and explore the massive amount of content available on the web, social networks and within the different editorial departments of France Television. With this platform journalists are able to extract the relevant information and enhance its editorial content, thus building the continuous information feed of Francetv info live.

The application enables journalists to broadcast and amplify in real-time high quality and relevant information. Designed from day one as a cross-channel social platform, the users are positioned as contributors: they can comment, send pictures and videos and share the posts on social networks. But beyond sharing, the platform is designed in a way that establishes a true dialogue between journalists and users possible.

RESULTS

Implementing agile approaches helped us integrating the staff at the very heart of the project at all the steps, allowing it to evolve quickly and smoothly, and enabling us to launch an innovative and high-quality platform in less than six months.

Our team succeeded to set up a scalable and powerful platform capable of supporting over a million simultaneous users and integrated across many platforms. The modular system is built around a central API, managing the different services involved, guaranteeing its evolution through time. The interfaces are intuitive and responsive for both users and editorial staff, regardless of the device.