The ABC iview Smart TV app has won a Gold Award in the Digital Design Apps and Software category at the 2026 Australian Good Design Awards. The Jury called it a well-executed redesign of a public-service streaming platform at national scale.
The ABC iview Smart TV team rebuilt the app on the ABC design language system and shared component libraries. The Jury pointed to lower bounce rates, a 25 per cent uplift in children’s sub-profile use and six times higher live-rail interaction as evidence of meaningful impact for audiences.
ABC Chief Digital and Information Officer Damian Cronan said the result reflected the work of a team that took on a hard problem. “iview is one of the main ways audiences discover what our content makers produce, and the television experience is central to this,” Mr Cronan said. “The team centred our design on discovery and accessibility at the centre, and an independent Jury has now recognised that. I congratulate everyone involved.”
What the Jury saw
The Jury said the shift to a content-first discovery model makes Australian stories easier to find while supporting age-appropriate discovery. It singled out the navigational trailers and the show-led live experience. It also commended the team for treating accessibility as a first principle, describing screen reader support and improved focus handling as a strong foundation for inclusive public service design.
Why the team rebuilt it
The previous Smart TV app ran on an ageing codebase and offered an experience that was falling behind industry standards. Research and analytics showed that browsing was difficult and previews were limited, leaving viewers to choose without much to go on. A high bounce rate on entry pointed to friction in login and onboarding. Sub-profiles existed but were not promoted enough, and the live model needed to move beyond a broadcast paradigm. Accessibility support, including screen readers, was behind what is expected of a public service.
“We spent our time understanding how people discover and watch live and on-demand content on the TV,” said MC Monsalve, ABC Digital Design Manager. “Once you see where people hesitate or give up, the design priorities become clear.”
What viewers get
Navigational trailers give a real-time visual preview as people move through rows of shows, including live playback within rails.The live experience is led by what is on now rather than by channel, with live rewind and watch from start controls for events and streams.A reworked login and pairing flow makes ABC Account linking simpler and encourages sub-profile setup, particularly for children.
Audio Described content now lets viewers with vision impairments hear the visuals described on the big screen.
Monsalve said accessibility shaped the whole build. “It was never a layer added at the end,” she said. “It sits underneath everything, because a public broadcaster’s app has to work for everyone who wants to use it.”
About the awards
The Australian Good Design Awards were established in 1958 and are Australia’s longest-running international design awards. An independent Jury of more than 100 Australian and international design experts assesses entries against three criteria: Good Design, Design Innovation and Design Impact. The 2026 Awards Ceremony will be held on Friday 9 October at the International Convention Centre Sydney.
Posted Mon 12 Oct 2026 at 5:10pmMon 12 Oct 2026 at 5:10pmMon 12 Oct 2026 at 5:10pm