ESPN and AT&T announced the nationwide completion of the deployment of the ESPN App on DirecTV set-top boxes. The initial phase of the rollout started last December.
The app allows subscribers to switch between all ESPN live and on-demand video to their TVs through a hybrid interface. This is the first time ESPN has made this app-like service combining both linear and streaming content available on set-tops, the programmer notes.
Back in December when the launch was initially revealed, Mike Andrews, ESPN VP of media engineering, reported that ESPN’s technology team worked closely with DirecTV to develop the integration. “Fans want to turn on their television and watch great sports content with as little friction as possible,” Andrews said. “With the ESPN App on the DirecTV box, they get exactly that – a dynamic user interface, seamless automatic subscriber recognition, and all of ESPN’s networks and streaming content presented in one place, all without the need to change television inputs or log in.”
In addition to ESPN’s linear networks, DirecTV subscribers with a broadband-enabled set-top can now to stream live events from ESPN3, SEC Network +, and ACC Network Extra plus short-form, on-demand clips, and highlights from the programmer’s web site. They don’t need to log in since they will be automatically authenticated.
The states in the final phase of the nationwide rollout include Alaska, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
