One of the biggest complaints of the streaming era is trying to figure out on which service you can watch which thing. That’s become even more complicated as more sports have made themselves available on the various streaming services — and then double that as the streaming rights have changed hands.
ESPN just made it far easier to figure things out.
The ESPN app and website now have an easy-to-read schedule that shows you what live sports are happening on any given day. And perhaps more important, it shows all the options with which you can watch. And we’re not just talking live sports available on the ESPN family of networks. If it’s being played, it’s listed. It doesn’t matter if it’s on a broadcast network like the Disney-owned ABC (Disney also owns ESPN, of course), or CBS, or Fox, or ABC — it’s there. If it’s on ESPN+ or MLB.tv, or Amazon Prime Video, or WNBA League Pass, you’ll find it.
That, folks, is a breath of fresh air in 2024, when some companies continue to complicate things to prioritize their own interests. (We’re looking at you, Apple Sports app, which is quick to push users to the Apple TV app, even if it’s really just aggregating — and obfuscating — where the event is actually being streamed.)
You do have the option to prioritize things at the league and sport level — if all you care about is Major League Baseball or college basketball or the WNBA, cool. You can surface those above other things. And there’s another option to select specific channels and streaming services, to make things that much easier. Or just let the waterfall flow and sort things out yourself.
There’s also a handy search option, which is great for seeing when a specific school or team has events coming up. For instance: I search for Florida International, and I get all the upcoming games and matches from FIU.
“Simplifying discovery of sporting events and where a fan can watch has become increasingly important as sports viewing has become fragmented across networks and platforms,” Brian Marshall, vice president of sports product and technology for Disney Entertainment & ESPN Technology, said in a press release. “ESPN has always been the first stop for sports fans, and as we continue our evolution as the preeminent digital sports platform, we are proud to meet the needs of fans with new features to improve the discoverability of live sports and simplify their consumption journeys.”
The “Where to watch” feature, as ESPN is calling it, is available via a little computer icon in the top right of the app and on the ESPN website.