OHdio

Mobile appProduct mergerRadio-Canada
Two apps and the two teams behind them became one home for live radio, podcasts and music.
  • 2apps and two teams merged into one
  • 2.2Mconnections a month
  • 4.7★from more than 77,000 ratings
  • 500k+downloads on Google Play
Radio-Canada had two great radio networks and two separate apps to listen to them.

OHdio launched on November 7, 2019, replacing the ICI Première and ICI Musique apps and websites. It brought live radio, catch-up shows, podcasts and the ICI Musique Classique channel into a single free app, with suggestions that change with the time of day. The hard part wasn't the screens: it was getting two products, and two teams with different habits, to become one.

  • ICI Première, live and on demand
  • ICI Musique and ICI Musique Classique
  • Podcasts and audiobooks
  • Your account: resume, download, save for later
Two apps, one listener. ICI Première and ICI Musique each had their own app, designed in 2015. People who loved both had to juggle them. Nobody should need two apps to get from the news to Beethoven.
Two ways of listening. One platform had to serve passive listening, radio on in the background, and active news browsing, with very different rhythms.
Two teams, one product. The internal teams behind each app worked in different ways. Merging the apps meant merging how they worked too.
One home for audio. Live radio, catch-up, podcasts and music in one place, with an account to pick up where you left off, download for later and save what you like.

Where OHdio is today

Five years after launch, Radio-Canada called OHdio the most-listened French-language audio destination in Canada. These figures come long after my part of the project; they show the foundation held. By 2024, connections were up 42% since 2020, and listeners spent an average of 4 h 30 a week in the app. That's a lot of Beethoven, and probably a few true-crime podcasts.

  • ~11Mconnections a month in 2024
  • 250original podcasts
  • 180audiobooks

Curious to know more?

The full story, with the screens and the workshop details, is best told in person. Book 30 minutes with me to talk about it.

One app instead of two, one team instead of two: 2.2 million connections a month and 4.7 stars from more than 77,000 ratings.

Credits

UX and CX design, team alignment
Jean-Sébastien Daigle · Libéo