Pioneering product innovation to establish HBO as alpha of OTT media streaming

In the past, HBO.com supported programming simply by being a companion site to the HBO viewing experience. However, with a recent relaunch, it's shifted from being passive TV viewing support to being a site that literally draws consumers into the stories. Now, it's a digital reflection of the brand; visitors are immersed in the shows and compelled to dive deeper into content and engage more intensely with it.

In addition to high-quality videos (previews, clips and trailers of the most popular HBO shows) that provide users with more of a TV-watching experience than a PC-viewing experience, editorial and user-generated commentary sits side-by-side on the site, to provoke engagement and discussion.

Referencing the various categories of HBO content (Series, Comedy, Sports), an expandable menu called a Category Explorer is the primary navigation and links to almost every section. Enabling the content to come forward as much as possible, once a user dives into a section, it collapses into the HBO logo in the upper corner yet remains accessible with a rollover. Once inside a section, a nav bar at the bottom of the screen provides easy access to all of the content specific to a selected show.

• The site is supported by a dynamic content management system developed by HBO in conjunction with their partner Roundarch.

• A message board community is contextually integrated to the site’s content and a user profile and dashboard enables users to set-up profiles, save clips, articles and discussions and get relevant messages about their favorite shows from HBO.

• Videos are displayed full-bleed; the transition is quick and seamless and the quality is stunning, providing users with a heightened viewing experience.