Amazing Discoveries Expands with Smart TV Apps and 3.4× Higher Engagement in 5 Months

Yalantis helped this Canadian non-profit launch on four major smart TV platforms, reaching new audiences in Canada and the US while reducing development costs through shared codebase architecture.

4×

Samsung TV viewer growth

3.4×

Engagement increase

95%

Customer satisfaction

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“Non-profits have the same distribution challenges as commercial media companies – but tighter budgets. We designed the architecture so Amazon Fire TV and Android TV apps share the same codebase, cutting development costs significantly while still delivering native experiences on four platforms.”

– Mykhailo Maidan, CTO at Yalantis

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A web-only video platform couldn’t reach audiences where they actually watch content

Client:

Amazing Discoveries

Headquarters:

Canada

Industry:

Non-profit / Religious media

Platforms:

Samsung TV

LG TV

Amazon Fire TV

Android TV

Partnership:

August 2022 – February 2023

Team:

5 IT experts

Amazing Discoveries is a Canadian religious non-profit organization founded in 1993. What started as a space for public campaigns, seminars, and religious events evolved in the 2000s into a digital media operation – with a website hosting educational videos, articles, and interviews.

The organization had already built a proprietary video streaming platform (ADTV) that served as their main educational channel. But they faced a fundamental problem: their audience was growing, but their reach was limited to desktop and mobile web browsers.

In the Canadian market, smart TVs had become the dominant way people consumed video content. Amazing Discoveries was missing millions of potential viewers who preferred watching on their living room screens rather than laptops or phones.

As a non-profit focused on spreading awareness and building donor relationships, this gap in distribution directly impacted their mission. They needed to meet their audience where they were – on Samsung, LG, Amazon Fire, and Android TVs.

Amazing Discoveries had been collaborating with Yalantis for over two years – we’d already built their iOS and Android mobile apps and were updating their legacy website. Now they asked us to bring ADTV to the four most popular smart TV platforms in their market.

Client:

Amazing Discoveries

Headquarters:

Canada

Industry:

Non-profit / Religious media

Platforms:

Samsung TV

LG TV

Amazon Fire TV

Android TV

Partnership:

August 2022 – February 2023

Team:

5 IT experts

Four native smart TV apps with shared codebase architecture, market-driven platform selection, and optimized content discovery

Market research-driven platform selection

Our business analysts researched the most popular smart TV models and applications in the Canadian market. Samsung TVs were the most commonly used among existing ADTV viewers, so we prioritized that platform. LG, Amazon Fire, and Android TV rounded out coverage of the market.

Home screen with content categorization

The home screen lets viewers browse and discover content easily. Videos can be sorted by topic, speaker, and other categories – making it simple to find specific sermons, educational series, or interviews from the ADTV library.

Full-featured video player

Each app includes a native video player optimized for the TV viewing experience. The player integrates with Amazing Discoveries’ existing streaming infrastructure – no changes needed to their content delivery pipeline.

Shared codebase for Amazon Fire and Android TV

We architected the Android TV app so its code could be reworked for Amazon Fire TV with minimal changes. This reduced development costs significantly – critical for a non-profit budget – while still delivering native experiences on both platforms.

Legacy framework adaptation

Amazing Discoveries had existing infrastructure and frameworks from their web platform. Rather than rebuilding from scratch, we adapted these legacy components to work in the smart TV environment – preserving their investment while extending its reach.

Mission-aligned UI design

We reviewed each design iteration with the client’s team to ensure alignment with the organization’s vision. The UI balances modern TV app conventions with the educational and spiritual focus of Amazing Discoveries’ content.

How Yalantis delivered four smart TV apps in five months – building on a two-year partnership

Step 1

Discovery and platform selection

Since Amazing Discoveries was already a long-term partner, most communication processes were established. We focused on gathering requirements specific to smart TV apps, identifying key stakeholders, and formulating approval flows for UI designs and prototypes.

Our business analysts performed market research to identify the most popular smart TV models and applications in the Canadian market. This data-driven approach ensured we prioritized platforms that would reach the largest audience.

Step 2

Prototyping and UI design

Our designers collaborated with Amazing Discoveries’ team to establish the main functionality of each app before creating visual designs. We created UI layouts that account for TV-specific user behavior – remote control navigation, viewing distance, and the lean-back experience.

Step 3

Development with cost-optimized architecture

We built the home screen and video player functionality with content sorting by topic, speaker, and categories. The Android TV codebase was architected for reuse – allowing us to develop the Amazon Fire TV app with minimal additional effort, reducing costs for the non-profit client.

Step 4

Real-device testing and platform compliance

We tested each app on real Samsung, LG, Amazon Fire, and Android TV devices to ensure performance and eliminate issues before launch. We gathered documentation from publishing platforms to ensure compliance with Android TV and Amazon Fire TV requirements.

Step 5

Launch across all platforms

Once testing confirmed everything was running smoothly, we presented the apps to Amazing Discoveries and launched them on all four platforms. The launch expanded ADTV’s reach to audiences in both Canada and the United States.

Over five months of collaboration, Yalantis delivered measurable results for Amazing Discoveries:

4 smart TV apps launched

Samsung, LG, Amazon Fire, and Android TV platforms covered

4× increase in new Samsung TV viewers

The primary platform delivered immediate audience growth

3.4× increase in new audience engagement

Viewers on smart TVs engaged more deeply with content

95% customer satisfaction rating

Collaborative process aligned with organizational vision

Reduced development costs

Shared codebase for Amazon Fire and Android TV minimized budget impact

Legacy framework successfully adapted

Existing infrastructure extended to new environment

Expanded reach to US audiences

Amazon Fire TV in particular opened new geographic markets

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