ESPN have confirmed their intentions to launch an official cricket ‘companion’ app for the iPad, utilising the services already seen on their international sub-website ESPNcricinfo.

Set to become their 3rd iPad app (and only the first to be launched outside of the USA), the service launch will coincide with a test match between England and South Africa in July. ESPN have already described their services as a potential ‘second screen experience’ for viewers, with features set to start with a regular integrated ’homepage’ including headlines, news, opinion, and live scores.

In further detail, big matches will include a dedicated live page with text commentary and scores (both for the featured match and related), statistics (with supporting graphics),  ’player profiles’, and photo galleries, amongst others, with the lack of integrated highlights mainly due to the fact that the company carries little in the way of cricket broadcast rights, and in areas that they do (such as South Asia), the rights do not cover other regions.

However, the app does ensure a smart ’global’ approach in that it automatically detects the location of a log-in through the iPad’s Wi-Fi connection, and adjusts the app accordingly to provide cricket headlines more focused on that region also detects the user’s location from where they log on and then provides content and match information relevant to that region.

Users are also able to directly connect to Facebook for in-play and general interaction with fellow cricket fans, while further features of the app are the personalisation that offers notifications of key scores and alerts, as well as an ‘offline mode’ allowing for articles to be saved to the iPad to be read another time.

ESPN International’s ‘vice-president of digital media’ Arne Rees summarised the upcoming release: “Mobile media and second screens are now an essential part of how fans stay connected to the sport they love. ESPNcricinfo is well established as the leading digital cricket service and this new app will bring the best of that straight to fans’ tablets – wherever they are. The ESPNcricinfo iPad is another example of how we look to serve fans on multiple devices with the very best sporting content.”

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