Project overview
Background
Paramount+, aimed to boost activation rates for their Marketplace subscriptions on EntOS (Entertainment OS). The proposed solution allowed customer to pre-fill account details by sharing their Sky linked email address.
This was a 14-month project.
Customer problems
• Friction: current account creation process takes place across multiple platforms.
• Keyboard input: existing research revealed that customers found on-TV account creation "painful and long"
Business Goals
• Increase activation rate: currently only 39% of new Paramount+ customers activate their accounts on the day of purchase..
• Onboarding new partners: an agnostic solution to be rolled out to other partners.
Scope and Constraints
Scope was mainly Prospect (New Customers) and Resubscribing (Unactivated customers).
Constraints related to
• Partially created account: starting point would be to only require an email address to partially create their account.
The Process
1. Brief analysis and AS-IS Journey
2. Journey mapping
3. Moderated user testing
4. Post-testing workshop & Refinement
Success Metrics
• Increase in Activation rate (currently at 39%): Paramount+ consider the activation rate as an indication of churn because customers need to activate their subscription to watch content.
• % of accounts created using Sky-verified email vs operator-verified email address: Ratio of customers who opt to share their Sky email id on TV to create their account vs those who opt to do this online.
Results so far (1 month post launch)
• Activation rate: Boosted to 53%.
• % of accounts created using Sky-verified email vs operator-verified email address: 65% of customers who activated on purchase date had opted to share their Sky email address; the remainder activated online.
New Account creation
Original Account creation
The Process
AS-IS journey
New to the Commerce team, I began by mapping the current experience and validating key pain points.
The main pain point being the split account creation flow across TV and web.
Current experience
After purchase; customers are presented with a QR code which takes them to sky.com to create their partner account. This introduces friction at a critical moment in the journey.
Once the account is created on web, customers must return to the TV, manually locate the partner app (e.g. Paramount+) and sign in. This adds unnecessary effort before content access.
Web Sign in displays a QR code that redirects to web
TV Sign in displays an onscreen keyboard for credentials input.
Quite a lot of hoops for our customers to jump through just to watch their content! 🤯
Prior research revealed mismatches between user expectations and reality:
• Account creation took longer than expected (15 mins vs 5-10mins)
• Participants expected that "Sign-in on TV " meant they could only watch on TV (No, It meant they could watch on any device).
• Participants struggled to remember the account creation instructions on the QR code screen (they frequently had to refer back to the TV to check instructions).
These insights highlighted the need for a simplified flow that would align with our customer expectations.
Journey Mapping
"How might we design a seamless account creation process using Sky email addresses to keep customers engaged on TV while setting up partner accounts?"
To explore this, I mapped 2 proposed options and shared them with Product and the wider design team.
Proposal 1: Offer 2 points for customers to share their Sky email address (pre- and post-purchase)
Rationale: Prompting before purchase aligns with common mental models seen in competitor apps where account creation typically comes before subscription (Jakob's Law).
Prompt 1 to share email address
Both CTAs allow the customer to progress to purchase
"Skip for now" however triggers the 2nd prompt post purchase
Prompt 2 to share email address
"Use another email" activates the QR code route (current experience)
Pros
• Reduces perceived friction; making account creation feel faster.
• Scalable for future Partners requiring more data (e.g. DOB, location)
• Minimises drop-off by letting customers proceed even if they skip the first prompt.
Cons
• Weak mental model alignment: customers may not link Sky email input with account creation.
• Timing sensitivity: some users may be in a browsing mindset so not yet ready to share their details.
Proposal 2: Prompt customers to share their Sky email after purchase only.
Rationale: This aligns with the existing journey and reinforces the current customer mental model, reducing the risk of confusion or hesitation.
Customer asked once after purchase
"Use another email" activates the QR code route (current experience)
Pros
• Contextual timing: Asking after purchase feels more natural and relevant.
• Mental model alignment: Preserves the familiar EntOS and reduces friction.
Cons
• Higher perceived effort: account creation may feel longer when delayed.
• Limited scalability: less suited for partners needing more upfront data.
Below is a visual comparison of both proposals.
To reduce friction, customers would partially create an account using their Sky email, unlocking content on TV immediately. For on-TV access, Paramount+ would prompt customers to set a password via a magic link (a partner- managed step).
Proposal 1 was favoured by Product for its scalability, especially for Partners needing upfront data like DOB.
Engineering initially raised concerns about technical feasibility, particularly EntOS limitations. I led a clarification session with Product and Engineering confirming that Sky would pass customer details to the Partner, who would complete account creation.
With alignment across teams, we proceeded to moderated user testing for Proposal 1.
Moderated user testing
Changes in our Research team meant there was a tight 10-day turnaround for recruitment and testing. This meant clear, transparent communication was critical.
To support this, I co-designed a cross-disciplinary UXR kickoff workshop; aligning the Researcher with our goals and refining participant recruitment criteria through collaborative feedback.
Based on this, the recommendation from Research was to also test Proposal 2 along with Proposal 1 to test our assumptions.
The workshop also created a space to build upon our research questions and testing hypotheses.
Executive summary across both journeys
• Account clarity was low: Participants were unsure if they were "signed in" to Sky or Paramount+.
• Most understood that the email came from their Sky account, but some didn't realise they'd still need to set a password for non-TV access.
• Participants preferred to share their email after reviewing the offer but before payment.
• There was a clear need to separate the purchase journey from account creation, both in flow and messaging.
• Reactions to a 2nd email prompt were mixed (some appreciated the confirmation, others found it repetitive).
Following testing, the Product Manager informed us that, due to Paramount's legal due diligence, they required to include an additional screen before customers could access content. This was to better manage expectations around the account creation process. We had already addressed this carefully crafted copy on the email sharing screen.
In response to this new requirement, I co-faciliated with the Product Manager a post-testing workshop on how to integrate this screen while incorporating testing insights.
Post-testing workshop & refinement
Paramount+ were legally obliged to include this screen after a customer has consented to sharing their email address.
We had already managed this by presenting this success screen to the customer after they consent to sharing their email address.
There is a duplication of messaging across both screens.
The post-testing workshop brought together Product, Design, Research and Copy (Engineering were unavailable) for a cross-disciplinary review.
Research shared user insights, while each discipline captured notes through the lens of their expertise.
Journey screens were printed and displayed on a whiteboard, allowing the group to gather around and collaboratively review the flow. Together, we identified potential changes to incorporate both the research insights and the newly mandated Paramount+ screen.
Participants preferred sharing their email after reviewing plans but before payment, and expressed a need for a clearer separation between purchase and account creation.
To balance this insight while accommodating Paramount+'s lesgal screen, we repositioned the account creation prompt post-purchase. This placed it adjacent to the legal screen, creating better contextual flow and aligning more closely with user expectations.
For customers who preferred not to share their email, a fall back path would be the QR code screen which would give them the flexibility of inputting another email of their choice.
REFLECTION
With limited Research capacity, I took a more active role in user research. This was a welcome opportunity that brought me closer to users and deepened my understanding of their needs. Tight timelines sharpened my stakeholder management, helping to maintain alignment and momentum throughout.
Key takeaway
Navigating the complex landscape of Commerce: This project required balancing priorities across internal teams and external partners like Paramount+, who came with their own proposed solutions. My open, transparent communication helped build trust, clarify constraints, and guide stakeholders towards a unified outcome.
