Saumya Ghai

AIRTEL XSTREAM Play · Web Responsive

Because no one waits for
TV anymore.

Pay for the game.

Not the month.

Pay for the game.

Not the month.

We shifted Xstream from a channel-first experience to a content-first platform built for modern viewing behavior.

5M+

paid subscribers

passes sold

100M+

monthly users

net upsell revenue

↑ 32%

content discovery

Overview

As Airtel Xstream evolved into a content-first OTT platform, discovery lagged behind. We redesigned the experience to make content easier to find, faster to access, and built for how people actually watch.

Impact made

30M to 100+M MAU

↑ 32% in content discovery

Read time

5 mins

Duration

2019 - 2021

Role

Sr. Product Designer

Contents

Problem

Access over commitment.

How might we

Designing for what people actually want.

Insight

Asking better questions.

Friction

Simple on the surface. Complex underneath.

Approach

Launched fast. Landed big.

System

Big wins, even bigger smiles.

Impact

This is just the beginning.

Takeaway

This is just the beginning.

Airtel Xstream Play Web

Fixing how people actually get to what they want to watch

Pay for the game.
Not the month.

The Setup

Good content. Friction in getting to it.

Airtel Xstream offered a wide catalog across TV, movies, and regional content, but the experience didn’t keep up with how people actually consumed it.

Users often opened the app with clear intent, but getting to that content required navigating multiple layers, interpreting unclear categories, and making unnecessary decisions along the way.

The issue wasn’t lack of content or features.
It was the effort required to access them.

Airtel Xstream offered a wide catalog across TV, movies, and regional content, but the experience didn’t keep up with how people actually consumed it.

Users often opened the app with clear intent, but getting to that content required navigating multiple layers, interpreting unclear categories, and making unnecessary decisions along the way.

The issue wasn’t lack of content or features.
It was the effort required to access them.

Airtel Xstream offered a wide catalog across TV, movies, and regional content, but the experience didn’t keep up with how people actually consumed it.

Users often opened the app with clear intent, but getting to that content required navigating multiple layers, interpreting unclear categories, and making unnecessary decisions along the way.

The issue wasn’t lack of content or features.
It was the effort required to access them.

OLD WEB EXPERIENCE

How might we

From scheduled viewing to on-demand intent

How might we help Xstream adapt to users shifting from broadcast to binge consumption?

User behavior had already moved ahead of the product.

Viewing was no longer passive or schedule-driven. It was intentional, fast, and often session-based. Users expected to continue where they left off, find relevant content quickly, and move seamlessly between browsing and playback.

To support this shift, the experience needed to:

Reduce dependency on traditional TV-style navigation
Support quick re-entry into content (resume, continue watching)
Handle diverse content types and languages without overwhelming users
Scale with increasing content partnerships and categories

This wasn’t just a redesign. It was restructuring the product around intent.

User behavior had already moved ahead of the product.

To support this shift, the experience needed to:

Reduce dependency on traditional TV-style navigation
Support quick re-entry into content (resume, continue watching)
Handle diverse content types and languages without overwhelming users
Scale with increasing content partnerships and categories

This wasn’t just a redesign. It was restructuring the product around intent.

User behavior had already moved ahead of the product.

To support this shift, the experience needed to:

Reduce dependency on traditional TV-style navigation
Support quick re-entry into content (resume, continue watching)
Handle diverse content types and languages without overwhelming users
Scale with increasing content partnerships and categories

This wasn’t just a redesign. It was restructuring the product around intent.

INSIGHT

Users don’t browse. They execute.

Mapping the journey revealed a pattern. Most sessions started with a clear goal, not exploration.

Users typically fell into one of three behaviors:

Returning to continue something they had already started
Searching for a known title
Scanning briefly before committing quickly

The current experience treated all users as explorers, which added friction for those who weren’t.

Key shift: Design for intent first, discovery second.

Mapping the journey revealed a pattern. Most sessions started with a clear goal, not exploration.

Users typically fell into one of three behaviors:

Returning to continue something they had already started
Searching for a known title
Scanning briefly before committing quickly

The current experience treated all users as explorers, which added friction for those who weren’t.

Key shift: Design for intent first, discovery second.

Mapping the journey revealed a pattern. Most sessions started with a clear goal, not exploration.

Users typically fell into one of three behaviors:

Returning to continue something they had already started
Searching for a known title
Scanning briefly before committing quickly

The current experience treated all users as explorers, which added friction for those who weren’t.

Key shift: Design for intent first, discovery second.

FRICTION

Where the experience slowed users down

The problems weren’t isolated. They were structural.

Navigation: Content categories overlapped and lacked clear hierarchy
Flow: Too many steps between landing and playback
Recovery: Error states and unavailable content created dead ends
Language: Labels and copy didn’t always guide action clearly

Each issue added a small delay. Together, they broke momentum.

The problems weren’t isolated. They were structural.

Navigation: Content categories overlapped and lacked clear hierarchy
Flow: Too many steps between landing and playback
Recovery: Error states and unavailable content created dead ends
Language: Labels and copy didn’t always guide action clearly

Each issue added a small delay. Together, they broke momentum.

The problems weren’t isolated. They were structural.

Navigation: Content categories overlapped and lacked clear hierarchy
Flow: Too many steps between landing and playback
Recovery: Error states and unavailable content created dead ends
Language: Labels and copy didn’t always guide action clearly

Each issue added a small delay. Together, they broke momentum.

APPROACH

Designing for flow, not screens

The focus shifted from redesigning individual surfaces to restructuring how users moved through the product.

Instead of asking “what should this screen do?”, the question became:
“what is the fastest path from intent to playback?”

This led to three guiding principles:

Reduce decisions → remove unnecessary choices and ambiguity
Shorten paths → minimize steps between entry and action
Maintain momentum → avoid dead ends and interruptions

The focus shifted from redesigning individual surfaces to restructuring how users moved through the product.

Instead of asking “what should this screen do?”, the question became:
“what is the fastest path from intent to playback?”

This led to three guiding principles:

Reduce decisions → remove unnecessary choices and ambiguity
Shorten paths → minimize steps between entry and action
Maintain momentum → avoid dead ends and interruptions

The focus shifted from redesigning individual surfaces to restructuring how users moved through the product.

Instead of asking “what should this screen do?”, the question became:
“what is the fastest path from intent to playback?”

This led to three guiding principles:

Reduce decisions → remove unnecessary choices and ambiguity
Shorten paths → minimize steps between entry and action
Maintain momentum → avoid dead ends and interruptions

HOMEPAGE

DETAIL PAGE

System

Restructuring the experience around intent

The redesigned system focused on clarity, predictability, and speed.

Navigation was simplified to establish a clearer content hierarchy. Entry points like “Continue Watching” and personalized rows were prioritized to support quick access. Content grouping was rethought to reduce overlap and confusion, especially across languages and formats.

Error handling was redesigned to guide users toward alternative content instead of blocking them. Microcopy was refined to support decision-making and reduce hesitation.

Rather than adding new features, the system removed friction across existing ones.

The redesigned system focused on clarity, predictability, and speed.

Error handling was redesigned to guide users toward alternative content instead of blocking them. Microcopy was refined to support decision-making and reduce hesitation.

Rather than adding new features, the system removed friction across existing ones.

The redesigned system focused on clarity, predictability, and speed.

Error handling was redesigned to guide users toward alternative content instead of blocking them. Microcopy was refined to support decision-making and reduce hesitation.

Rather than adding new features, the system removed friction across existing ones.

Impact

Faster decisions. Smoother sessions.

The redesigned experience improved how quickly users could move from entry to playback, reduced hesitation in navigation, and created a more predictable interaction model across the platform.

The product felt lighter, more responsive, and aligned with user expectations.

No new complexity.
Just less resistance.

The redesigned experience improved how quickly users could move from entry to playback, reduced hesitation in navigation, and created a more predictable interaction model across the platform.

The product felt lighter, more responsive, and aligned with user expectations.

No new complexity.
Just less resistance.

The redesigned experience improved how quickly users could move from entry to playback, reduced hesitation in navigation, and created a more predictable interaction model across the platform.

The product felt lighter, more responsive, and aligned with user expectations.

No new complexity.
Just less resistance.

TAKEAWAYS

Clarity scales. Complexity doesn’t.

This project reshaped how I think about designing for content platforms.

Users don’t need more options, they need clearer paths. Navigation isn’t a layer on top of the experience, it defines it. And the most impactful improvements often come from removing friction, not adding features.

This project reshaped how I think about designing for content platforms.

Big takeaway: The best experiences don’t draw attention to themselves. They just work.