Finding out which channel or streaming service your favorite sports team (or sport) is on can often be a frustrating endeavor.
For example, will today’s Mets game be broadcast on SNY, ESPN, Channel 11 or Apple TV+?
On Wednesday, ESPN launched the “Where to Watch” feature on its app and on ESPN.com, which includes thousands of games and sports and information on how to watch them on TV, cable or streaming.
“50% of our fans told us they don’t know where to watch their favorite teams play,” Brian Marshall, Vice President, Sports Product & Technology, Disney Entertainment & ESPN, told reporters at ESPN’s media day on campus in Bristol, Connecticut. “That gave us the idea for this project. How can we help our fans?”
Fans can search for events and customize the guide to prioritize their favorite teams and leagues, making it quick and easy to find what interests them most – all tied to their ESPN profile and personalization settings.
“Let’s face it, scrolling through hundreds and hundreds of events and the time-based guide can be a little overwhelming and take up a lot of time,” Marshall said. “On ESPN alone, there are 200 events happening simultaneously on a fall Saturday, so we’ve created a few filters to make the experience easier for our fans.”
The filters allow fans to search by teams, leagues and sports. For ESPN’s own channels and those that ESPN has a partnership with, which currently includes NESN and Monumental Sport, a link to view them is included. If the user has a pay-TV subscription, filtering by that provider is offered. There is also a search function for searching by terms.
Where to Watch currently supports NFL, NCAA Football, NCAA Men’s and Women’s 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 more sports to be added over time.
At the heart of Where to Watch is an events database created and maintained by the ESPN Stats and Information Group (SIG), which aggregates data feeds from ESPN and partners, as well as original information and program details from more than 250 media sources, including broadcast television and streaming platforms.
(ESPN)
