Success Story
About the Client
Zee Entertainment is a leading global media company, active in TV, broadcasting, movies, music, live events, and digital platforms. It reaches audiences in over 173 countries, entertaining more than 1.3 billion people, and has been shaping the media industry for over 27 years.
Business Situation and Requirements
Building a radio streaming app poses key challenges, including smooth live playback under varying network conditions, handling high user traffic, and managing schedules, content, and analytics. Achieving this requires a robust backend, optimized streaming technology, and an intuitive interface to deliver a seamless, reliable, and engaging listening experience
To better engage the Indian community in the UAE, Zee Entertainment acquired Hum FM, rebranded it as 106.2 Big FM, and planned a dedicated mobile app to deliver a seamless, interactive, and reliable listening experience.
Zee Entertainment partnered with Unthinkable to bring this vision to life. Beyond development, they sought a strategic partner who could contribute to design, ideation, and execution, ensuring the app met both user expectations and business goals. Zee chose Unthinkable for its expertise in media streaming applications and innovative design approach.
The requirements were as follows:
Build a radio streaming app featuring live music, interaction with MJs, program schedules, latest videos, and song details.
Integrate analytics and monitoring tools to track user behavior and ensure smooth app performance.
Implement a CI/CD pipeline to deliver frequent updates quickly and efficiently.
Enable high-quality, low-latency audio streaming for uninterrupted playback.
Support push notifications and reminders for live shows, favorite MJs, contests, and special broadcasts.
Design an intuitive and engaging user interface for easy content discovery and seamless listening.
The Solution
The engagement began with Unthinkable’s Discover & Frame workshop, capturing app ideas, target market, user personas, business model, competition, and revenue streams to define a clear project roadmap. Our analysts turned these insights into user stories, feature lists, process flows, and interactive prototypes, making sure every requirement was clearly captured. We recommended a scalable tech stack, pointed out key third-party integrations, and built the app in separate modules to ensure good performance and room to grow. This approach showcased our expertise and attention to detail throughout the entire development process.
Discovery, Planning & Prototyping
Unthinkable conducted the Discover & Frame workshop to capture app ideas, target users, business models, and revenue streams. Insights were translated into user stories, feature lists, process flows, and interactive prototypes. A scalable tech stack, key third-party integrations, and modular app design were recommended to ensure performance, flexibility, and future growth.
Scalable Architecture & UX Design
Requirements were translated into a robust, high-performance architecture supporting seamless integration and scalability. UX experts applied design thinking to create an intuitive, visually engaging interface, enabling users to access features and insights effortlessly.
Cross-Platform Development & Agile Delivery
To meet tight timelines, the team chose React Native for simultaneous Android and iOS deployment. Leanban methodology enabled iterative development, faster delivery, and sustainable improvements without compromising quality.
DevOps, Streaming & Analytics Integration
CI/CD pipelines were implemented for efficient deployment on Android and iOS. Custom media players and background playback features ensured smooth streaming. Analytics tools (Google Firebase, Tag Manager) and Crash Analytics via Fabric.io provided real-time insights and performance monitoring.
The Impact
With our team’s support, Zee Entertainment successfully launched and promoted the app on schedule, meeting every critical milestone despite tight timelines. By leveraging DevOps practices to accelerate releases and reduce operational costs, and using React Native to enhance development efficiency, the team delivered a high-quality, fast-evolving product that could adapt to user needs quickly.
Within months of launch, the app received glowing feedback from both users and sponsors. Listeners could effortlessly access detailed schedules for all 106.2 Big FM programs, including show timings, days, Music Jockeys, and program names. This created a seamless, engaging, and interactive radio experience, connecting audiences to their favorite shows and DJs like never before.
5x
faster release cycle
20%
cost optimization for feature releases
350
hours of development effort saved
7
full-stack developers deployed
