Good (Product) Friday: ESPN ScoreCenter

Left to Right: Android opening screen, Android “My Teams”, iPhone “MLB” scores, iPad app.

If you’re a sports fan/nut, you know ESPN very well so I don’t need to explain that the company has a ton of resources to dedicate to various media types. So, in the mobile space, the fact ESPN leads the score alerts and scores area early also should be no surprise.

Here’s how ESPN’s ScoreCenter is explained on their site:

“ESPN ScoreCenter brings you real time scores from over 500 sports leagues around the world. Stay on top of all the results you care about with one-tap access to your personalized set of scores. Never miss another goal, pitch, basket, try, touchdown or wicket. ScoreCenter brings you the fastest and most reliable game details like plays, key stats, leaderboards, boxscores and scoring summaries.Whether you follow the NFL or the Premier League, the ICC Champions League or MLB, NASCAR or Formula One, ScoreCenter offers the most comprehensive sports coverage available on your iPhone or iPod Touch.” (My note: Android and iPad apps have been release since this writing.)

What the ScoreCenter apps do well:

  • Customized screens on a per-sport basis
  • Customized “My Teams” screen to follow your teams
  • Background notifications, which is a big plus for me. I particularly like being reminded when certain games start. I seem to always be busy on the weekends and forget that there might be a game I’d like to check in on.
  • Scrolling ticker at application bottom, similar to TV scrolls.

Weaknesses:

  • Slow on initial load
  • Can crash if you leave app open for a while then return
  • Design is overdone in places (similar to their TV programs)

One alternative is Yahoo!’s recent purchase, Sportacular, who was first (that I know of) to the background alerts space. Their design is cleaner but a little tricker to navigate, which seems contradictory but is my experience. The biggest weakness I see with Sportacular — and it’s a nitpick for many — is the background alerts are at least four or five minutes behind ESPN’s. Speed in a live event is key to me.

If you’re a sports fan, the fact these apps have free versions gives you no excuse not to check any of them out… but I recommend ScoreCenter.

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