When it comes to enjoying the second screen experience – that is, using social media platforms or live viewing apps on your smartphone or tablet while watching TV – live sports offer the ultimate way to watch. The very nature of sports makes it ideal for social media and TV-everywhere apps. Best of all, many of these apps are paired with your cable subscription. For those, you can log in with the username and password from your cable operator and watch live. All of the apps we've featured are available on all Apple and Android mobile devices. So download the apps and laugh in the face of scheduling conflicts, delayed planes, and long meetings. Thanks to the tech, you’re not missing a single serve (or homer, or power-play, or touchdown…).
The WatchESPN app lets users access live sports and shows from all ESPN networks, including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNU, Buzzer Beater and Goal Line and shows like SportsCenter and Mike and Mike. The app has exclusive coverage of NBA regular season and playoffs, The Masters, Wimbledon, The U.S. Open, college football and basketball, Barclays Premier League and thousands of other live events. During Wimbledon alone, fans were offered nearly 1,000 hours of content! WatchESPN offers a split-screen experience to watch multiple games simultaneously. Additionally, fans can interact, share on social platforms, and watch countless hours of replays and highlights.
MLB.com At Bat is the official app for Major League Baseball. In addition to watching live games, At Bat provides key plays and moments from every game, video highlights, pitch-by-pitch updates, realistic ballpark renderings, breaking news, standings, schedules, rosters and stats. And, there are additional live games and archival footage for MLB.TV premium subscribers.
NFL ’13 was redesigned and launched in April 2013 with the NFL Draft and will continue through the regular season to include game recaps, customized alerts, news, Twitter feeds, and video highlights.
NHL GameCenter lets fans watch out-of-market games live, watch game highlights, and stream live game audio. During the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the app provides series-by-series plays and analysis as well as post-game video highlights.
MLS MatchDay 2013 was recently updated for the 2013 Major League Soccer season. This app delivers the latest news, videos, scores and highlights as well as video notification and match alerts for the World Cup qualifier games.
Golf Channel Mobile delivers instant access to news, videos and photos covering golf tours and players from around the world. In addition, Golf Live Extra lets fans watch live coverage of Golf Channel tournaments. Golf Channel Academy provides instructional videos, lesson plans, and tips to improve your golf game on the go.
And for a slightly different experience, try SportsTap. It’s a multi-sport app that has an advanced UI that resembles a smartphone home screen so navigation is intuitive. You can customize the app to feature any of your favorite sports and leagues for updated scores, game information, and stats.
These apps provide an opportunity to interact with other fans, have real-time additional information at your fingertips and stay ahead of the game with scores and standings – but we know tech changes fast. If we missed a great sports app, let us know in the comments.