ESPN is leveraging a revamped mobile application, featuring content from its SportsCenter program, and planning an overhaul of its mobile site in the spring to provide consumers with a cohesive and complementary experience across all digital channels.

The new ESPN app was created to take over from the existing SportsCenter app and its lackluster reviews. The sports brand is redesigning its digital properties in honor of the 20th anniversary of its Web site and ensuring that the new site functions more consistently alongside the app for consumers that prefer to consume media on a variety of platforms.

?I think that it is very important that media brands deliver on their brand?s promise to the consumer across platforms,? said James Briggs, CEO of Briabe Mobile, Los Angeles, CA. ?However, from there the experience needs to take on the freedoms of the platform that the consumer is engaged on. 

?Meaning, I don?t believe that a brand should limit its app experience to its capabilities on the desktop for consistency sake.?

Omnichannel experience
ESPN is making sure fans receive an omnichannel experience with the cohesive revamping. The new app is currently available for iPhone, iPad and Android users, and boasts a user-friendly interface divided into three key sections.

Consumers can peruse the ?Scores? section to customize content that can display favorite teams and in-progress game scores. The ?News? tab showcases daily breaking news, while ?Now? offers a blog-style approach at showing viral content.

The ?Now? section will include updated and curated commentary from an editorial team that will cover responses to relevant news topics and viral photos and videos.

This setup will likely be included in the site redesign, which is slated for April 2015.

?I just read a study the other day that stated that of the brands they analyzed, ESPN was the exception whereby more folks actually went to their mobile Web site than their mobile app,? Mr. Briggs said. ?I personally prefer their mobile site as well.?

Streamlined layout
ESPN has placed a higher focus on speed and simplicity, to allow for greater browsing and consumption capability. Videos will play instantly within their sections, with the option for full-screen available at the tap of a finger, while other content, including blog posts and real-time scores, can also be shared instantly.

Meanwhile, the ESPN iPad app features a toolbar in the bottom right corner, which curates a list of users? favorite teams so that team pages can be summoned immediately.

The brand has plans to roll out a similar app for Android devices in the future.

Fans that enjoy listening to podcasts or radio programs on-the-go can click on the ESPN On-Air icon in the bottom toolbar to stream audio. Content can be streamed even while users continue to browse the rest of the app or visit a different application on their device.

While live video content from the television channel is not available for immediate consumption, fans can follow the deep-link to WatchESPN, the brand?s streaming app. This also suggests the possibility that ESPN, alongside other media channels, may eventually pursue live streaming options within the main app.

?I think that ESPN is smart to continually make improvements on its mobile strategy,? Mr. Briggs said.
?Mobile is still a new media platform for both consumers and brands. And it is evolving before our eyes. 

?For the next generation, most media brands will need to continue to make enhancements to their user experiences,? he said. ?Moreover, I think that media brands need to avoid allowing themselves to buy into a mobile Web vs. application debate.  

?First, I don?t believe that they only have two options. There are more options that they need to explore on an opportunistic basis to meet business objectives.

?And second, the best strategies will have room for both.?

Final Take
Alex Samuely is an editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New York