BET+ Streaming Platform

Project Overview

BET+ stands as the premier streaming destination celebrating Black culture, delivering an extensive library of original series, blockbuster movies, compelling documentaries, exclusive live events, and the complete Tyler Perry film collection to millions of subscribers worldwide.

As a strategic component of the ViacomCBS (now Paramount Global) streaming ecosystem expansion, we provided comprehensive legacy app maintenance and development services for the BET+ mobile applications across iOS, Android, and tvOS platforms. Our team operated as an extension of the client's engineering organization, ensuring the applications remained current, secure, and competitively positioned while seamlessly integrating new features and content from the rapidly expanding ViacomCBS content library.

Technical implementation focused on multi-DRM content protection (FairPlay Streaming for iOS/tvOS, Widevine Modular for Android), adaptive bitrate streaming via HLS/DASH protocols, TV Provider Authentication for subscriber verification across 50+ cable/satellite providers, and sophisticated subscription management with receipt validation, billing integration, and promotional period handling. The architecture prioritized sub-3-second video start times, 99.2%+ playback success rates, and seamless integration with Braze for personalized engagement campaigns and NewRelic for real-time performance monitoring.

8M+

Global Downloads

Platforms

99.2%

Playback Success

Our Role & Responsibilities

Technical contributions and key deliverables

Native Mobile Development

Maintained and evolved existing iOS codebase using Swift 5+ and Objective-C with MVVM architecture and RxSwift/ReactiveCocoa for reactive programming
Maintained and evolved existing Android codebase using Kotlin and Java 8+ with modern architecture components, and coroutine-based asynchronous operations
Developed tvOS application with focus-based navigation, Siri Remote integration, top-shelf content previews, and Parallax image effects for enhanced living room experience
Updated and optimized video player components to meet evolving DRM requirements including FairPlay Streaming (iOS/tvOS) and Widevine Modular (Android) compliance with secure media path

Enterprise Collaboration

Coordinated directly with ViacomCBS internal engineering teams across product, platform, content, and marketing divisions for synchronized feature releases and content launches within scaled agile framework (SAFe)
Participated in bi-weekly agile sprint cycles, daily standups, sprint planning, backlog refinement, and retrospectives with distributed teams across multiple time zones
Collaborated comprehensively with QA organization on test strategy development, regression testing automation, device matrix coverage, and production verification across iOS, Android, and tvOS platforms
Partnered with content operations and programming teams on new show launches, promotional campaigns, featured content curation, editorial calendar execution, and live event streaming coordination

Technical Implementation

Integrated comprehensive analytics SDKs including Braze for user engagement tracking, audience segmentation, and personalized push notifications, plus NewRelic for performance monitoring, crash reporting, and custom instrumentation
Implemented sophisticated push notification campaigns with audience segmentation, A/B testing, deep linking to specific content, and scheduled delivery for new episode alerts and re-engagement initiatives
Managed beta testing programs through TestFlight (iOS) and AppCenter (Android) with phased rollouts, crash-free release monitoring, user feedback collection, and rapid hotfix deployment
Optimized application performance including app size reduction through asset optimization and bitcode compilation, launch time improvement via lazy loading, memory footprint optimization, and network request efficiency enhancements

Streaming & Content Protection

Implemented multi-DRM content protection strategy with FairPlay Streaming (iOS/tvOS) and Widevine Modular (Android) including secure license acquisition, key management, and hardware-backed decryption
Built unified TV Provider Authentication layer supporting 50+ cable/satellite providers with OAuth 2.0 flows, token exchange, refresh logic, and graceful fallback mechanisms for seamless subscriber verification
Developed adaptive bitrate streaming with HLS/DASH protocols, intelligent buffer management, CDN optimization, and network-aware quality selection for optimal playback across variable connection speeds
Engineered comprehensive subscription management with StoreKit receipt validation (iOS), Google Play Billing Library (Android), promotional period handling, family sharing support, and grace period management

Technical Challenges & Solutions

Complex problems we solved during development

DRM & Content Protection

Challenge: Premium content from multiple studios required strict DRM compliance across iOS, Android, and tvOS with different licensing agreements and security requirements
Solution: Implemented multi-DRM strategy using FairPlay Streaming (iOS/tvOS) and Widevine Modular (Android) with secure license server integration, hardware-backed key storage, and secure media path enforcement
Result: 100% content provider compliance certification with zero security incidents during production operation and successful passage of all studio security audits

TV Provider Authentication

Challenge: Complex authentication flow with 50+ cable/satellite providers each with different OAuth implementations, token formats, expiration policies, and error handling requirements
Solution: Built unified authentication abstraction layer with provider detection, deep-linking to provider apps, token exchange with refresh logic, credential caching, and graceful fallback to email verification
Result: 99.2% authentication success rate across all supported TV providers with 40% reduction in authentication-related support tickets and sub-8-second end-to-end auth flow

Video Performance Optimization

Challenge: Video startup latency and buffering during peak traffic periods (premiere events, live broadcasts) impacting user engagement, retention metrics, and app store ratings
Solution: Implemented adaptive bitrate streaming with intelligent buffer management, CDN edge caching optimization, content pre-fetching for previews, and network-aware quality selection algorithms
Result: 45% reduction in video start time (from 5.2s to 2.9s average), 60% improvement in buffering ratio during high-traffic events, and 99.2% playback success rate

Legacy Code Modernization

Challenge: Inheriting large legacy codebases with mixed Swift/Objective-C (iOS) and Java/Kotlin (Android) requiring careful modernization without disrupting active feature development or introducing regressions
Solution: Implemented incremental refactoring strategy with comprehensive unit test coverage (85%+ target), feature flagging for safe deployment, automated regression testing, and phased migration approach
Result: 50% reduction in technical debt, 35% improvement in build times, and maintained 99.8% crash-free session rate throughout the entire modernization process

Technical Stack

Technologies, frameworks, and tools

iOS & tvOS

Swift 5.7+ Objective-C 2.0 MVVM Architecture RxSwift 6.x Combine Framework AVFoundation AVKit FairPlay DRM StoreKit 2 TVMLKit TestFlight

Android

Kotlin 1.8+ Java 8+ MVVM Architecture ExoPlayer 2.18+ Coroutines/Flow Widevine DRM Jetpack Components Billing Library 5.x AppCenter SDK

Backend & DevOps

Jenkins CI/CD Fastlane 2.x Bitbucket Git GitHub Enterprise AWS CloudFront Akamai CDN HLS/DASH Streaming License Server Integration

Integrations

Braze Engagement New Relic APM Google Analytics 4 Adobe Analytics Multi-DRM (FairPlay/Widevine) TV Provider OAuth Deep Linking (Branch) Chromecast SDK AirPlay 2

Project Outcomes

Measurable results and achievements

Market Performance

8M+ downloads across iOS, Android, and tvOS platforms within first 24 months of launch
Top 10 Entertainment app in multiple markets (US, UK, Canada) during key content launches and promotional periods
4.3+ star average rating across App Store and Google Play with consistent improvement through optimization cycles
Featured by Apple in "New Apps We Love" and Google Play in "Streaming Now" editorial collections

Streaming Performance

99.2% playback success rate across all supported devices, platforms, and network conditions
Average video start time of 2.9 seconds on standard broadband connections (45% improvement from baseline)
HD streaming support with adaptive bitrate optimization reducing buffering by 60% during peak traffic events
Offline download functionality with 97.5% successful completion rate and secure encrypted local storage

Technical Excellence

99.8% crash-free session rate in production environment exceeding industry benchmark of 99.5%
35% reduction in app launch time through lazy loading, asset optimization, and initialization deferral
50% reduction in technical debt through systematic codebase modernization with comprehensive test coverage
Zero critical security vulnerabilities identified in third-party penetration testing and security audits

Content Launches

Successfully supported major original series launches including Tyler Perry productions, BET originals, and exclusive documentaries
Delivered seamless live event streaming for award shows (BET Awards), special programming, and premiere events with 99.5% uptime
Maintained platform stability during high-traffic periods (10x normal load) through infrastructure optimization and auto-scaling
Enabled TV Provider Authentication for 2.5M+ subscriber accounts with 99.2% authentication success rate

BET+