Product
Reimagining Nexstar’s Television News Websites
Building a modern design to scale across any device.
Nexstar — America’s largest local television and media company, with over 200 television stations across 116 markets — found their users were consuming content in new ways. They needed to be able to support the user experience on any device, from mobile devices to large displays. Having already partnered on NewsNation Now, we dove in to reimagine how Nexstar’s users consume news content.
From design concepts to a cohesive system
As we dug into the data, we found that Nexstar’s audiences were increasingly engaging with video content, but its current design and video player didn’t support all of the features users wanted. Postlight’s design team created a concept called “Theater and Library” with background colors, player components, and font treatments that ensure smooth video playback and clearly organized content.
Mobile-first design
Nexstar has an engaged audience from Honolulu to New York City, and visitor habits changed in 2020. Nexstar’s analytics showed that their audience engaged more and more with on-the-go content, making mobile device support critical.
We made designing for the small screen our first priority, then scaled components to work with larger screens. The result is an interactive digital experience that takes users through written and video stories and encourages them to engage deeper across the sites, no matter their device.
Preserving revenue and ad map
One key guardrail was to ensure our design supported Nexstar’s existing advertising map and revenue plan. Partnering with Nexstar’s revenue team to understand their needs, the opportunity space, and the overall business goals was key to creating a design that would support partner content and advertising plans.
Results
Postlight delivered a scalable design system, on time and on scope, with clear documentation on implementing each component.
Our design system for Nexstar’s television stations earned a Global Media Award from the International News Media Association for Best Product Iteration and armed Nexstar with a design system for the future.
Take a look at our work, and let us know what you think!
Nathan Henry (he/him) is Director, Head of Product Management at Postlight. Reach out at nathan.henry@postlight.com.
