the App Store chartsgetty
Apple released a new app today, Apple Sports, for real-time scores and stats and, likely, to promote live sports broadcasts including Major League Soccer on Apple TV. North American sports leagues currently included are MLS, NBA, and NHL, plus NCAA basketball. The app includes a mixture of European soccer leagues, but at the moment there is no NFL, MLB, UFC, or Formula 1.
Only available in the U.S., UK, and Canada, the app quickly shot to the top of its category and is currently the most-downloaded sports app in the iOS App Store. But itâs also unlike every other sports app Iâve ever used.
Part of the reason is that while Apple says new leagues will become available over time, including the NFL and MLB, thereâs no car racing sports like NASCAR or Formula 1, and no combat sports such as boxing or MMA. Another part of the reason is that Apple Sports has absolutely no editorial content or commentary: just the bare bones datapoints you can get off a stat sheet like scores, team rankings, box scores, and play-by-play notes.
Thatâs why thereâs no NFL or MLB in the Apple Sports app at the moment: those leagues are not in season. Itâs an open question whether Formula 1, NASCAR, UFC, or other sports will be added at some point.
The complete lack of editorial content is an odd choice, because sports fans still follow the teams they love and the players they watch in the offseason, looking for trades, contracts, and other news about the teamâs preparation for the coming year. Leaving this out is a big miss: itâs unlikely the average sports fan will switch from their current sports app to get less value.
Thereâs one exception to the no editorial content policy, in a sense: betting odds do appear for each game.
the App Store charts in the sports category.John Koetsier
Interestingly, the fine print at the end of Appleâs press release says you can turn betting odds off in the settings, but that appears to be incorrect. The app has no settings capability itself (âManageâ is only for leagues and teams you wish to follow), and the phone-wide Settings app in iOS, which also offers app settings for installed apps, does not list the Apple Sports app.
(Iâve asked Apple representatives about the seeming oversight, and will update this article when they comment.)
It seems clear that Apple released this app to complement the companyâs live sports push on Apple TV. Fans can âtap to go to the Apple TV app to watch live games from Apple and connected streaming apps,â Apple says.
And itâs probably not a coincidence that the appâs icon is a soccer field (sorry, Europeans: football pitch). Apple signed a 10-year deal with Major League Soccer in 2022 that reportedly costs Apple $250 million a year. Anything the company can do to promote customer engagement with MLS content, then, is probably a win.
One good thing about the Apple Sports app being so barebones: thereâs no advertising, and itâs very quick to load. Without much content keep people in the app, however, it may struggle to maintain an active user base.
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I’m an entrepreneur, founder, and writer. I’ve raised seed and series A funds, built websites and apps, and written a science fiction novel.
After five years of full-time tech journalism (plus founding a research division) at VentureBeat, I started my own consultancy. But since I can’t not write, I became a Forbes contributor.
I write about AI, robotics, smart home, and consumer technology, often basing my columns on my podcast, TechFirst.
Earlier in my career I managed technical teams, built software for partners like Intel and Disney, and closed 6-figure deals. In 2014 Folio named me to the top 100 of the media industry’s “most innovative entrepreneurs and market shaker-uppers.”
I consult in the adtech and martech spaces, and do small angel investments in tech startups, all of which are disclosed on my personal website under About > Disclosures.
I live in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
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2024-02-22 01:14:40
#NFL #MLB #UFC #Formula #Tops #Charts
