The new ESPN app looks the same as it always has, and that’s a good thing

ESPN has officially rolled out its sparkly new direct-to-consumer streaming service.

It’s been a long time coming in Bristol, as ESPN has been working toward a direct-to-consumer future as traditional cable subscriptions decline. But fans who aren’t tuned into every piece of breaking news regarding ESPN’s business might not even notice this day has arrived. And that seems to be the point.

When I went to explore the new-look ESPN app on my various devices this morning (a phone, laptop, and smart TV), I was struck by the fact that I didn’t really notice anything different. “Did my apps receive the update?” I thought to myself. This is supposed to be a seminal moment in ESPN’s history, and the new thing looks exactly the same as the old thing!

But then I started digging in and playing around. Sure enough, the new features were there. But they’re not in your face. The user interface remains largely the same as it has always been; tiles display what shows or games are currently on, as well as which ones are upcoming. The only truly noticeable new feature on the TV app landing page is a section for multiview, which, at first glance, appears expansive in terms of permutations. (Users are given a plethora of preset multiview options, unless they’re on Apple TV, where viewers can customize their own feeds.)

If you’re like me and didn’t necessarily understand what was “new” about ESPN’s app when you launched it today, let’s go through exactly what’s different. Given that most people are likely to primarily watch ESPN on their TV, we’ll start with those features.

After about 30 minutes of watching PGA Tour Live coverage, one of the first live sports to be featured on the new and improved app, I began experimenting with the added features. Multiview allows me to watch the main broadcast simultaneously with featured holes and group feeds, and it worked flawlessly. There were a multitude of combinations to choose from, and I didn’t notice any performance issues on my cheap TV.

It was too early in the day to use ESPN’s new “Catch Up To Live” function that allows viewers to watch highlights of an ongoing event to see what they missed before returning back to the live broadcast. Still, the feature is there and seemingly ready to be used once the event is far enough along. Similarly, the “Key Plays” feature was still waiting to populate highlights, but was integrated into the main broadcast by selecting the “Interactive TV” option.

Also housed in that same menu is the ability to link your ESPN BET or ESPN Fantasy accounts. I tested this out by placing a couple of bets on the golf event I was watching, and I was impressed by how quickly they populated onto the sidebar. For bettors, this is a useful feature to track the progress of your wagers. I’m excited to see how the fantasy integration looks when football season rolls around.

Moving on to the phone app, this is where things get interesting. ESPN has fully invested in the second-screen experience.

Perhaps one of the least discussed features in the lead-up to today’s launch was ESPN StreamCenter. The function allows users to sync their mobile device with the broadcast currently streaming on their television and provides real-time statistics, fantasy, and betting information directly to their phone or tablet. In terms of useful features present in the new app, this will probably have the most appeal. Linking my phone to StreamCenter was incredibly simple. I launched the ESPN app on my phone, and it detected that my TV was already streaming PGA Tour Live. All I had to do was tap connect and wah-la!

ESPN has also rolled out its much-ballyhooed AI SportsCenter, which it dubs SC For You. The feature presents users with personalized highlight reels and news about their favorite teams and interests. It utilizes AI-generated voices of familiar SportsCenter anchors, such as Hannah Storm, Gary Striewski, and Christine Williamson, to guide the user through the top stories of the day.

On my first use of SC For You, it was pretty underwhelming. That’s to be expected when ESPN says the function is still in beta; it’s clearly not fully fleshed out. My specific feed featured a clip of Damien Woody talking about the Pittsburgh Steelers on Get Up, a rundown of Scottie Scheffler’s bid to win consecutive Tour Championships, a general college football update, a general NFL update, Top Ten Plays from Wednesday, and a viral clips section. That generally fits my interests as a sports fan (the Steelers and pro golf are probably my two greatest fandoms, so ESPN nailed it there), but the feature seemed a little frivolous. See, if you’re a big fan of the Steelers, you’re probably already keeping up with the team through other channels and social media platforms. Anything you see on the SC For You page will likely be old news. So, unless you’re interested in what ESPN personalities have to say about your favorite teams, which many people might be, the use case for content outside of commentary seems limited. In total, the entire SC For You feed took just a few minutes to get through (though I skipped the Top Plays and viral videos portion).

The other major new feature in the mobile app is called “Verts.” It’s ESPN’s answer to the TikTok craze — vertical video designed for virality. Oddly, the first video I was served up on Verts was about the John Wall dance from the NBA star’s University of Kentucky days, which didn’t make too much sense to me other than Wall retired earlier this week. Still, I didn’t get the point of a video about his viral dance from college. The next was a Chris “Mad Dog” Russo rant from yesterday. Then I got an MLB and a WNBA highlight. So far, this product isn’t for me. I’d imagine that sports fans who do use platforms like TikTok and Reels already have algorithms that are better curated to their interests than those on Verts. Perhaps over time, the experience will improve.

But my biggest takeaway, regardless of the device used, is ESPN’s ability to make the entire experience very simple. Going into this, I was expecting the app to look way different than it did before. That’s not the case. Users accustomed to launching the ESPN app on their phone or Smart TV aren’t in for a completely different experience. All of the new features are very unobtrusive, seamlessly placed where you can find them if you’d like, but tucked away if you don’t want to see them.

The North Star of the app remains the live programming, just as it should. At the end of the day, ESPN is a place sports fans go to watch games, and perhaps a bit of commentary about the world of sports. These features can all enhance the content, depending on the user, but they’re not so intrusive that they detract from the core product.

Ultimately, the question will be whether these added features are enough to encourage users to engage directly with ESPN’s platforms more than they did previously. After all, most users will gain access to the new ESPN app through their pay TV providers rather than paying the a la carte $29.99 per month price. Are these add-ons enough to persuade someone to watch a sporting event on the ESPN app rather than through their cable bundle, as they’ve done for years? That will, in part, determine the success of this app.

So far, ESPN is off to a solid start in that department. There’s definitely a value-added benefit to tuning in on the ESPN app versus traditional means. Will sports fans decide it’s worth altering their habits because of these new features? That’s a tougher sell, but one ESPN hopes will catch on with sports fans as it continues to develop and polish these new features.