CASE STUDY · FANDUEL SPORTS NETWORK · DTC

Watch one game.
no strings
attached.

Designing a single game purchase experience, a credit-based system that gave fans a way into live sports without committing to a monthly subscription.

SENIOR PRODUCT DESIGNER

WEB · APP · TV

NBA · NHL

01 · The Brief

A way in.
Without the commitment.

Not every fan wants a monthly subscription. The business needed an alternative — a credit-based system that lets a user buy access to a single live game, on any platform, without locking them into a recurring plan.

The token model: purchase once, hold it, redeem it when a live NBA or NHL game is available in your market. Simple in concept but complex to design across web, app, and TV.

02 · PRD to Clarity

17 pages.
Too many assumptions.

Every project starts with a PRD. This one was dense — 17 pages of requirements that read more like assumptions than decisions. The team spent a full day pulling it apart, flagging contradictions, and turning them into a structured set of questions for product.
   

03 · Competitive Audit

How others
handle credits.

Before touching Figma, the team mapped how comparable products handle single-purchase and credit-based flows — Audible, ClassPass, Airbnb, Expedia, Farfetch, Runway. The goal: find the patterns users already understand and build from there.

04 · Service Blueprint

Who's involved
at every step.

Before wireframes, the team built a service blueprint to align on which systems, teams, and user states were involved at each stage — anonymous vs signed-in, design WIP vs post-engineering feedback.
  

Spec Write Up · Live Stats

An example of spec write for the Live Stats tab only. This includes detailed matrix of each module and how it will behave depending on the sport and a moment in the game. Also account for load and error stats. 
 

05 · The Flow

Home → Paywall
→ Checkout → Watch.

Seven stages from home screen to live game. The block model defined the full purchase and redemption path — including the key decision point where a user can either watch immediately or save the credit for a different game.

PURCHASE

Buy a single game token

Web or app checkout — $6.99, no subscription. Zip code determines available markets. Token stored in account.

HOLD

Save for the right game

Token sits in the user's account. Redeemable for any eligible live NBA or NHL game in their market — no expiry in phase one.

REDEEM

Watch the game live

One tap to redeem. Works on web, app, and TV — with a QR code flow for TV purchases since the platform can't process payments directly.

06 · Designs Delivered

Web. App. TV.
One purchase flow.

The same flow had to work across three fundamentally different surfaces — each with different input methods, screen sizes, and payment capabilities. TV required a QR code handoff to mobile since in-app purchases weren't available on the platform.
   

07 · Results

Shipped.
Underperformed.
Here's why.

Single game purchase launched and gave users a genuine non-subscription option. But discoverability was limited by a competing FanDuel marketing offer that was contractually obligated to take priority — the product never got the surface area it needed to convert.   

4,105

PURCHASE IN FIRST 2 MONTHS

The feature shipped and users found it — but volume was constrained by discoverability, not product quality.
 

4,105

LOW DISCOVERABILITY

A competing FanDuel offer was contractually prioritized in marketing. Single game purchase was deprioritized in surface placement before it had a chance to perform.
 

3

PLATFORM SHIPPED
Web · App · TV

A single purchase flow designed to work across fundamentally different surfaces and input models.
  

0

USER RESEARCH

No research was available to validate design decisions or identify problem areas. Shipped on product instinct and competitive benchmarking alone.

one game.

one token.
shipped on three platforms.

CO LEAD DESIGNER · PRD REVIEW · COMPETITIVE AUDIT · SERVICE BLUEPRINT · WEB, APP + TV FLOWS · HIGH FIDELITY HANDOFFS