Bundesliga, LaLiga, Liga MX, Ligue 1, and Serie A are also supported, and more services will be added after launch. Apple says that MLB, NFL, NCAAF, NWSL, and WNBA will be available “for their upcoming seasons.”
While Apple isn’t getting into the sports betting industry, the new app does come with the sports bettor and their experience in mind. Apple Sports will offer live odds via a partnership with DraftKings, as reported by Sportico.
The app’s launch comes as Apple amps up its involvement in live sports. The company launched MLS Season Pass — its soccer streaming service — last year, and it’s also been airing Friday Night Baseball since 2022.
The app ties directly into sports streaming services, letting users directly jump into Apple TV Plus or other supported streaming services to view games live.
The app itself does not support betting, and Apple says users can disable betting odds if they want to.
Eddie Cue, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Services, said the company wanted to make it easy and convenient for sports fans to get quick access to scores and other stats from the games that matter to them: “We created Apple Sports to give sports fans what they want — an app that delivers incredibly fast access to scores and stats. Apple Sports is available for free in the App Store and makes it easy for users to stay up to date with their favorite teams and leagues.”
Where bettors will be most impressed is with the app’s primary premise. Apple is entering a competitive market with many well-established sports media sites, like ESPN and CBS Sports, providing the same product on mobile apps.
Where Apple believes it will differ is with speed. Instead of having someone manually log scoring in live games, Apple Scores draws from numerous technology providers to give real-time, play-by-play data that is expected to be faster than televised games, which are on a delay.
“You can obviously get scores in many places today, but I don’t think anybody is focused and dedicated on the concept of live and making it simple, clean, fast like we’ve done,” added Cue. “We’ve spent an incredible amount of engineering on this.”
Apple also believes a simple, easy-to-use, less-cluttered interface than other apps will appeal to users, who can follow their favorite teams and leagues to get instant updates.
Source: GMB / Covers.com
