Finding out what channel or streaming service your favorite sports team (or sport) is on is often a frustrating task.
For example, will today's Mets game be broadcast on SNY, ESPN, Channel 11 or Apple TV+?
On Wednesday, ESPN launched a “Where to Watch” feature on its apps and ESPN.com, which includes thousands of games and sports and how to watch them, whether broadcast, cable or streaming.
“Fifty percent of fans say they don't know where to watch their favorite teams play,” Brian Marshall, vice president of sports products and technology for Disney Entertainment and ESPN, told reporters at a media day on the ESPN campus in Bristol, Conn. “That's what inspired us to come up with this project: How can we help our fans?”
Fans can search for events and customize their guide to prioritize their favorite teams and leagues, tying in with their ESPN profile and personalization settings to make it quick and easy to find what interests them most.
“Let's be honest, scrolling through hundreds of events and time-based guides can be a bit overwhelming and time-consuming,” Marshall said. “ESPN alone has 200 events happening simultaneously on any given Saturday in the fall, so we've created some filters to make the experience easier for fans.”
Filters allow fans to search by team, league, or sport. Viewing links are included for ESPN's own channels, as well as channels with which ESPN is affiliated (currently including NESN and Monumental Sport). If a user has a pay-TV subscription, filtering by their carrier is offered. There is also the ability to search by term.
“Where to Watch” currently supports NFL, NCAA Football, Men's and Women's NCAA Basketball, NBA, WNBA, MLB, NHL, UFC, F1, NASCAR, PGA Tour, Tennis Majors, MLS, Premier League, Champions League and other live sporting events broadcast on ESPN platforms, with additional sports to be added in the future.
At the core of “Where to Watch” is an event database created and maintained by the ESPN Stats and Information Group (SIG), which aggregates original source information and program details from ESPN and partner data feeds, as well as more than 250 media sources, including television networks and streaming platforms.
[ESPN]