Apple launches standalone sports app with key focus

Tech giant Apple has launch a standalone sports app for iPhone users that focuses on letting users track scores live.

The app, which went live in the App Store Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024, is the company’s latest entry into the news and content arena.

The new app isn’t designed to focus on sports news content, however.

It’s really designed to give fans a way to keep track of scores from their favorite teams and leagues all in one place — and using a few quickl glances.

At launch, it will support live score updates from all major teams and leagues (some league who aren’t in-season now may not be listed but will be added later). It will also feature an option to see betting odds from DraftKings. 

Using a dashboard-style approach, the app allows users to pick teams or leagues to follow. When one of the teams or leagues the user has opted-in to is playing, the scores automatically start appearing on the main screen of the app and update in real time.

It has a similar feel to the company’s existing Stocks app as well as the user interface in its Weather app that lets users switch between locations. 

Users can also jump into live game coverage if the event in question is available via a compatible Apple TV app, including third-party streaming providers. 

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Apple Sports is available to U.S., U.K. and Canadian users as of Feb. 21, 2024.

The app notably does not feature the ability to trigger notifications or use Apple’s own “live activities” feature to create widgets for tracking games in real time. It’s not clear if those features are on the development timeline. 

The app also allows users who wish to dig deeper into game statistics, which Apple presents in its trademark clean style.

The focus on scores distinguishes the standalone app from the sports section of the existing Apple News app. 

Apple News launched with iOS 9 in 2015 and has expanded its offerings and partnerships since then. It mostly curates content with partner publishers, sometimes adding audio or interactive versions of stories. Apple editors also pick “best of” content, often so-called “long reads” each day.

It splits revenue with publishers whose content is featured.

Apple News also has a large library of digital magazines and newspaper content under the Apple News+ banner, which requires users to pay. 

The app also has a separate sports section, which also allows users to pick teams and leagues to follow, but focuses on providing comprehensive coverage alongside scores. 

Apple also holds broadcast rights to select Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer games, which are streamed through its Apple TV service and often cross-promoted through the News app. MLB games are included in an Apple TV+ subscription, but MLS games require a separate pass to view, with a discount available to Apple TV+ subscribers.

The new Apple Sports app is likely to compete, to at least some degree, with sports-centric apps from other brands, including major network sports divisions, ESPN and more. 

Most of these apps seek to combine scores and sports news content, which could be seen as a more cluttered experience for those just wanting to know how their team is doing at a glance. 

Other sports apps have allowed users to track specific teams and events and receiving push notifications when scores change, a feature that the initial iteration of Apple Sports lacks. 

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Most other mainstream sports apps also allow users to see at least a few current scores from multiple franchises in prominent location, often on the main screen above links to video and written content.

Most other sports apps are monetized mostly via display advertising and video ads, which means the app designers want to encourage users to delve deeper into content, rather than just opening the app, checking a score and closing it.

Apple didn’t indicate any immediate plans to include advertising within its app, though it likely could, but also may not need to monetize it in a traditional way since it can also serve as an entry point to encourage users to read Apple News content or log in to its game streams.