Engineering the Technical Backbone of FN Genius for FOX
Powering Interactive & Mobile Entertainment
When FOX ventured into mobile gaming with the launch of FN Genius, a trivia game fashioned in the vein of the popular HQ Trivia, they asked Ex Machina to provide the technical solution. Leveraging FOX's existing network and audience, FN Genius aimed to deliver a live, interactive experience to users while simultaneously driving engagement during TV broadcasts.
The project combined low latency live streaming, real-time trivia questions and large-scale gamification to hands of thousands of players. The app launched during the popular Teen Choice Awards giving viewers the chance to win up to $25,000.
The Technical Goals Behind Building FN Genius
The objective was to develop a robust, scalable platform that could support FN Genius's ambitions of delivering live trivia during commercial breaks of FOX TV shows.
To achieve this the following features for the platforms were defined:
- Low-latency live streaming infrastructure to ensure real-time engagement with users.
- Scalable user management system capable of supporting a large influx of simultaneous users
- Design and implement trivia game mechanics
- User registration and authentication
- Analytics framework to track user engagement and game performance
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From Studio to Screen: The Technical Architecture of FN Genius
The platform combined low-latency live streaming with an engaging and intuitive gameplay interface. Using the Producer Console the production team could manage everything happening in the app in real-time. Video was ingested directly from the studio and reached the end user in less than 3 seconds.
The app was available for iOS and Android and showed a countdown timer before the live game started. Push notification ensured all users were ready for the start of the game. During the game questions were pushed out to end users and results were calculated in real-time, without any lage.
The platform consisted of:
- Live Streaming Low latency live streaming with less than 3 seconds of latency
- Gamification A scalable gamification engine to run the quiz show
- Producer Console A real-time producer console that allows the production team to run the show
- User Management User registration and user management tools
The vision for FN Genius is that it will fuse the digital and the linear in a way that hooks viewers and satisfied ad buyers.
How FN Genius Drove Engagement and Sponsor Value
The FN Genius app was a great engagement tool and as a platform for sponsor integration. Launched during the popular Teen Choice Awards, the app effectively extended the ad break and offered a unique opportunity for sponsors to interact with the audience. With features like sponsored questions, in-app branding, host shoutouts, and unique prizes, the app served as a multifaceted platform for advertisers.
The app boasted an impressive average engagement time of 12 minutes and 25 seconds per user. Furthermore, it also contributed to brand uplift, with a notable 55% brand preference for Twix, one of the sponsors.
Overall, the FN Genius platform successfully met its technical objectives, providing a scalable, low-latency experience, while simultaneously proving to be a valuable asset for both FOX and its sponsors.
The FN Genius app was a great engagement tool and as a platform for sponsor integration. Launched during the popular Teen Choice Awards, the app effectively extended the ad break and offered a unique opportunity for sponsors to interact with the audience. With features like sponsored questions, in-app branding, host shoutouts, and unique prizes, the app served as a multifaceted platform for advertisers.
The app boasted an impressive average engagement time of 12 minutes and 25 seconds per user. Furthermore, it also contributed to brand uplift, with a notable 55% brand preference for Twix, one of the sponsors.
Overall, the FN Genius platform successfully met its technical objectives, providing a scalable, low-latency experience, while simultaneously proving to be a valuable asset for both FOX and its sponsors.
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