Last checked at 1 Oct 2010 15:30
STV Player second only to BBC's iPlayer in VoD services, according to brand new research
An independent usability study of Video on Demand websites has described STV's online catch-up service, STV Player, as the best in the UK, outside the heavily resourced BBC iPlayer.
The research measured the usability of six VoD websites provided by the major UK broadcasting companies; STV Player, BBC iPlayer, Demand Five, 4oD, ITV Player and Sky Player.
Based on 10 different usability criteria, STV scored 76 per cent in usability stakes, making it the highest scoring commercial player. STV Player was second only to iPlayer, which scored 88 per cent.
STV Player, which launched in 2009, was developed in-house by STV's digital team over a period of just 6 weeks. The service delivers a world class user experience and functionality, allowing users to catch up with their favourite STV programmes completely free of charge, and watch selected programmes from the STV archives.
The research was conducted by user experience consultancy Webcredible, who evaluated each website against 10 best practice guidelines across four categories; site & homepage priorities; site support key user tasks; engagement; and help & support. The 10 criteria included ease to search for a specific programme; ease to play a selected programme; flexible viewing options provided; and ease to find information and parental control options.
STV Player scored full marks for having a clear section on its homepage which explains to site visitors what STV Player is and how to use it. STV Player also achieved top marks for acknowledging the importance of a 'help' section by providing a prominent link to it within its main navigation.
Alistair Brown, Head of Digital at STV, said: "We always try and put our audiences at the centre of what we do and I'm delighted that this has been recognised by an independent usability report.
"I'm particularly pleased as the STV Player was developed on an extremely cost effective basis and in a very short timescale; the site and its production infrastructure were designed and developed over 6 weeks by the in-house team at STV. We have work scheduled to enhance the service in the next few months."
STV Player is part of STV's ambitious digital strategy, STV Anywhere, which strives to make STV content available whenever and however users want it.
Visit STV Player on www.stv.tv/player.
To see the full report, go to www.webcredible.co.uk.
STV press contact: Anna Hendry, 0141 300 3830 or anna.hendry@stv.tv