Introducing Apple Sports, A New App For Sports Fans
Apple unveiled a free iPhone app for tracking sports scores on Wednesday, marking its latest push to establish itself as a significant distributor of sports information and news.
The app, Apple Sports, does one thing very well: it displays sports scores from all major clubs and leagues. Users in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom may download it on Wednesday, the start of the Major League Soccer season.
Apple Services Chief Eddy Cue stated that Apple developed the app to be fast and easy for numerous daily checks. Adding that it sets itself apart from other sports scoring applications, Apple does not support a club or league and is not compelled to keep users engaged for lengthy periods.
Over the past few years, Apple has expanded into sports by purchasing rights and airing Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer games, adding more sports news to its News app, and airing sports-related documentaries about teams such as the Golden State Warriors and the New England Patriots on Apple TV+.
CNBC reported that Apple, in the past year, competed for National Football League game rights, ultimately losing to YouTube. Anticipations suggest Apple’s participation in the upcoming NBA rights negotiations. Apple, like Google and Amazon, sees large live sporting events as an ideal pillar for its streaming services. The newly released app, not pre-installed, closely connects with Apple’s existing services.
For example, it will import the user’s current choices for preferred teams, sports, and leagues from other applications, so whenever the Sports app is used, many users will already see scores from their favorite teams.
The Apple News and Apple TV apps actively handle notifications and live activities, including current capabilities like alerts for game start times or upcoming games the user is interested in.
Most game pages will feature sport-specific information, such as who scored goals, which players are on the court, and who is at first base. Pages will also contain live betting odds, which users may turn off in the settings.
The game pages tend to include an Apple TV button. This indicates that the user may click to see a live game broadcast. It works for sports that Apple carries and games on streaming services linked to the Apple TV app. Many currently require a cable connection but will become more accessible through over-the-top streams.
No app tailored for the Apple Vision Pro headset, the ultimate sports-viewing gadget.
Apple will also include features that would allow users to follow college basketball’s March Madness competition within the app.
Here’s a list of leagues Apple says it will support:
MLB
NFL
NCAA Football
WNBA
MLS
NBA
NCAA basketball (men’s and women’s)
NHL
Bundesliga
LaLiga
Liga MX
Ligue 1
Premier League
Serie A