Breaking the Internet: How Jardian Ormsby is Redefining Streaming with Customer Focused Innovation

As Director of Product for Kayo SPORTS and BINGE, Jardian leads a team of product managers and designers charged with helping to shape Foxtel Group's streaming future.  

At this year’s Upfronts, Jardian will be sharing a number of announcements with the market including:  

• the revolutionary Kayo mobile app already achieving 37% click-through rates 

• the enhancement of the Kayo TV viewing experience 

• the AI-powered Kayo Buddy poised to enhance how Australians experience sport, and  

• a complete BINGE refresh 

  
  

Here, Jardian shares what motivates him to continually innovate:

"At this point in my career, I'm always chasing the opportunity to solve complex problems at businesses that have an appetite for creating 'break the internet' type experiences that redefine ‘normal’ for everyday people."  

It's this hunger for transformative innovation that brought him back to Foxtel Group, to apply his product expertise to help further change the game. 

Finding the Way Home 

Jardian's journey to streaming product leadership is a masterclass in following your passion, even when it takes unexpected detours. With over fifteen years in product management, his career began at the grassroots level with the NRL before moving to Basketball Australia in Melbourne, where he worked across the NBL, WNBL and Australia's national teams. 

His first stint at Fox Sports Australia gave him a taste of Foxtel Group's culture, but career growth called him elsewhere. "I felt it was important for my growth to spend

some time outside of sports, so I entered financial services," he reflects. Yet the pull of sport proved irresistible, "I guess sports has a way of calling its people home." 

That homecoming was about finding organisations whose ambitions matched his own. After leading the NRL’s product team, Jardian returned to Foxtel Group to work on an exciting new project with Kayo. "In Foxtel I saw an organisation whose passion for changing the game matched my own," Jardian says. "Being able to work with Tom Blaxland on creating a world-class product team was the cherry on top,” he shares.  

Meeting Fans Where They Are 

The recently launched Kayo mobile app represents more than a technical upgrade – it’s a fundamental reimagining of how fans consume sport. Jardian's team established early that authentic mobile experiences require understanding the distinct tasks users perform across different contexts and devices. 

"The tasks to be done by someone in transit, with little time, on a small device, where they're only watching it themselves are very different fr

om the tasks to be done by someone on the couch, with two hours up their sleeves and a company of people with them," Jardian explains.

This insight drove every design decision, from embracing vertical video to creating frictionless navigation that matches fans' energy. 

The strategy is already paying dividends. "One of the early successes from the mobile app is that the early click through rate on our new stories feature is 37%. That's one in every three visits that's seeing a short highlight and clicking straight into the full match replay without leaving the origin point. At scale, that is a true game changer." 

Rather than competing with traditional long-form content, these shorter bursts serve as compelling entry points, proving that innovation amplifies rather than cannibalizes existing viewing habits. 

Enter Kayo Buddy 

Perhaps no innovation better represents Jardian's vision than Kayo Buddy, the AI-integrated streaming companion born from an ambitious cross-company design sprint. The concept was borne out of a simple question: "How might we ignite Australia's love of sports and entertainment all day, every day? 

"Kayo Buddy is an AI-integrated streaming companion that leverages our vast catalogue of sports data and video to provide deeper insights for fans in ways that haven't been seen in streaming before," Jardian explains. But this isn't AI for AI's sake – it’s intelligence with purpose, designed to feel supportive rather than intrusive. 

Launching in early 2026, the first version of Buddy will offer useful, real-time insights like fixture updates, player stats and sports highlights. Buddy will continue to develop over time, but Jardian's long-term vision is transformative. "Whilst it might feel simple at first, we already know what the long-term game for Buddy looks like, and when we're there, it’ll feel like it was always meant to be there." 

"If a customer has a group of friends over, I fully expect that Buddy's insights will act as conversation starters," Jardian predicts. "Sports fans are always pining for banter and connection with other fans. Buddy will help fuse all that together." 

Revolutionising the Living Room 

The same customer-first philosophy transforming mobile is revolutionising the Kayo television experience through comprehensive platform redesigns that prioritise personalisation and performance. Jardian's team tackled fundamental questions about user priorities, asking whether any new feature could be more important than fixing lingering technical issues. 

"We spent a tonne of time 'bullet-proofing' the video experience, which should please viewers," he notes. “Ultimately, no new feature is going to be more meaningful to customers than a flawless stream.” But technical excellence is just the foundation for deeper innovations in how fans discover and engage with content. 

"We're levelling up our personalisation by re-designing the Kayo platform in ways that properly acknowledges a customer’s favourite team or sport, and making it much easier for them to find what they're likely to be looking for," Jardian explains. 

Even advertising integration reflects this user-first approach. "For advertisers, we're going to create new opportunities in more prominent locations without it ever feeling to a user that an ad is being shoved down their face. 'Attract, not distract' as we called it in our design theory." 

Data-Driven Innovation 

Jardian's approach to product development balances thoughtful analysis with genuine understanding of what fans need. His team has brought a clear, data-focused approach to planning what comes next when working through the BINGE platform refresh, ensuring every initiative serves both customers and business objectives. 

"What should excite our people is that we've brought data and objectivity into our roadmap planning," he explains. "That means that we're only committing to doing things that will really matter to customers and the business; shiny or (most likely) otherwise." 

When Ideas Find Their Voice 

Jardian's excitement for the Upfronts announcements stems not just from what these innovations mean today, but their future potential. His philosophical approach to product development reflects a deep understanding of how breakthrough ideas emerge and evolve. 

"Always be curious and sometimes the ideas will find their way to you, not the other way around," he advises aspiring product leaders. Drawing on Rick Rubin's wisdom about creative forces, Jardian believes innovative ideas seek the right people to bring them to life, at the right time.

"If you have an idea that you’re excited about and you don’t bring it to life, it isn’t uncommon for that idea to find its voice through another maker. This isn't because someone else stole your idea, but because the idea's time has come." 

"I feel like this with Buddy. If we didn't do it, it would've found its voice through another streaming service." It's this understanding – that great ideas have their moment, and those who are paying attention can seize the moment – that positions Foxtel Group at the forefront of streaming innovation. 

As Jardian and his team prepare to unveil their latest product features, one thing is clear: they're not just building products, they're redefining what streaming can be. In a landscape where everyone talks about innovation, Jardian is delivering it – one game-changing experience at a time. 

Read more about how we're redefining streaming.