Interactive multimedia content for older adults: the case of SeniorChannel

Interactive multimodal content fruition is increasingly available on platforms accessible via smart televisions (TVs), personal computers (PCs), or tablets. Based on the case of SeniorChannel TV, this paper contributes to understanding whether this format can meet the needs of older users. The paper first describes SeniorChannel TV and the usability guidelines according to which it was designed. It then reports two user studies, one of which was carried out in the field with seven test households and focused on usability. The second study was carried out in experience labs in Italy and Spain with 20 participants and assessed users’ satisfaction and an active audience’s experience with the final prototype. The paper offers encouraging results on the potential of interactive multimodal content to support an active audience experience, and it describes the double-level at which accessibility can be ensured.The study was partially funded by the European Ambient Assisted Living Joint Program through the SeniorChannel project (AAL-2009-2-090)