Norigin Spatial Navigation – React Native TV Nominated for Streaming Innovation of the Year 2026

Norigin Spatial Navigation – React Native TV has been nominated for Streaming Innovation of the Year at the 2026 Streaming Media European Innovation Awards. Voting is open now and closes on Friday 31 July. Click here to vote for Norigin Spatial Navigation – React Native TV.

Last year, the open-source library itself was nominated for the 2025 Streaming Innovation Award and went on to be shortlisted for IABM’s Community Impact Award at IBC2025. This year, it’s our newest release in the spotlight: the React Native version, which extends the same navigation model to Apple TV and Android TV.

The Problem: Two Platforms, Two Sets of Navigation Logic

Smart TV and CTV apps are the central hub for premium video in homes around the world, and remote control navigation is what holds that experience together. Get it wrong and everything else about the app suffers.

Web-based platforms like Samsung Tizen, LG webOS, Vizio and Hisense VIDAA already support cross-platform technologies. Native platforms have not been so straightforward. Apple TV and Android TV take fundamentally different approaches on their own operating systems – Apple’s focus engine and touch-surface remote versus Android TV’s D-pad-driven system. Historically, that has forced engineering teams to build and maintain separate navigation logic for each platform, duplicating effort on something the viewer experiences as a single app.

What’s New in the React Native Release

Norigin Media’s React Native Spatial Navigation library lets developers implement remote control navigation across Apple TV and Android TV from a single codebase, while still respecting the individual nuances of each operating system.

The release follows a beta launch in spring 2026, live deployments across production streaming apps, and key input from the library’s open-source global developer community. We’ve since deployed streaming TV apps using React Native with one codebase spanning both native and Smart TV platforms.

Why It’s Innovative

• One Codebase, Two Native Platforms: A unified navigation model for Apple TV and Android TV, without platform-specific native development.

• Consistent UI/UX: The same focus behaviour and navigation patterns across native and web-based Smart TV, so your app feels the same everywhere.
  
  
• 90,000+ Monthly Downloads: Continued growth across the global developer community, with the library now used within CTV apps by broadcasters worldwide.
  
  
• Specifically Built for TV App Use-Cases: Unlike other navigation libraries, Norigin Spatial Navigation is engineered for 10-foot UIs and directional input logic.
  
  
• Improved Accessibility: Better navigation patterns across devices, making content browsing simpler and more inclusive for all audiences.
  
  
• Community Impact and Open Adoption: Originally developed to power Norigin Media’s own TV App SDK, the library was open-sourced to benefit the broader developer community. The React Native release was shaped directly by that community, alongside live deployments in production streaming apps.
  

Norigin Spatial Navigation embodies the spirit of innovation by solving a niche yet critical UI problem with an elegant, open-source solution. As the industry shifts towards more sophisticated FAST, OTT, and multiscreen experiences, empowering developers with such tools is essential to industry innovation.

We believe this contribution to the open-source community and TV tech ecosystem merits recognition in the 2026 Streaming Media European Innovation Awards. Voting closes Friday 31 July, with the top three finalists in each category announced in August. Click here to vote.

Good luck to all of our fellow nominees in the category!

See It Live at IBC2026 in Amsterdam

We’ll be demoing the React Native Spatial Navigation library at IBC2026 in Amsterdam, 11-14 September. Get in touch to book a time with our team in Amsterdam!

Get Started

• Documentation: devportal.noriginmedia.com/docs/Norigin-Spatial-Navigation
• npm: @noriginmedia/norigin-spatial-navigation-react-native-tvos
• GitHub: github.com/NoriginMedia/Norigin-Spatial-Navigation

FAQs

• What is Norigin Spatial Navigation – React Native TV?
  It is the React Native version of our open-source directional navigation library, letting developers implement remote control navigation across Apple TV and Android TV from a single codebase.

   

• Why do Apple TV and Android TV need different navigation logic?
  Apple TV uses a focus engine with a touch-surface remote, while Android TV is built around D-pad input. Without a unifying library, teams build and maintain separate navigation logic for each.
  
  
• Which platforms support Norigin Spatial Navigation?
  Apple TV and Android TV via React Native, plus web-based Smart TV platforms including Samsung Tizen, LG webOS, Vizio and Hisense VIDAA.
  
  
• Is Norigin Spatial Navigation open source?
  Yes, it is fully open-source and available on GitHub, with active maintenance and community adoption.

   

• How do I vote?
  Visit streamingmediaglobal.com/Innovation-Awards and vote for Norigin Spatial Navigation – React Native TV under Streaming Innovation of the Year. Voting closes Friday 31 July 2026.

Have a question about Norigin Spatial Navigation, want to grab a demo at IBC2026, or learn about our other great TV App solutions and services? Fill in the form below and someone from our team will be in touch soon!