iPhone App Review – ESPN Radio

Great sports radio is hard to come by growing up in Volunteer country. I like college sports, but I love professional sports even more. Unfortunately, all I hear is high school stories and anything dealing with the Vols. ESPN has recently released their latest iPhone app and this one streams their radio stations into your phone. A few negative aspects make me not give this a perfect score but the value is there for sports fans and is a must-buy if you want to escape from local sports radio.

This app costs three dollars. For this much, I have been listening crystal clear shows such as the Michael Irvin show, the Scott Van Pelt show, and Mike and Mike in the Morning. There are over 12 radio stations to listen to including New York 1050, Pittsburgh 1250, Los Angeles 710, and Dallas 103.3. They play 24 hours, 7 days a week. Another plus is when a Saturday Night Football game is on ABC, you are able to listen to the football game from the iPhone app if you are not near a TV.

There is also a podcasts listing where I can hear any show I have missed at anytime. There are 35 choices including podcasts from Around the Horn and Pardon the Interruption (The best sports news hour in history). If there is a radio show you love to hear, but missed it that day, no worries. You can go into the podcasts category and choose the shows from the last 5 days.

ESPN Radio has a great interface. You have the stations, the podcasts, and the ability to text a radio show your input and feelings toward any topic they are discussing. On the bottom of the screen, there are scrolling headlines from the day updated on the spot and they have scores scrolling in the same style of how ESPN does during Sportscenter. When you tap the headline, you can read a news article about the story. When you are done, just tap the top and it goes back to how it was. Simple, easy, and effective.

There are a few quibbles about the app that make it not perfect. Sometimes trying to tap the headline to get the news article makes you turn off the radio show (maybe I just have huge fingers). You have an option to listen to a radio station from the background but you just can’t hit the home button. You have to hit the ‘background’ from the menu list and have it streamed from Safari which feels annoying and unnecessary. The last thing is when you receive a phone call, it kicks you out of the app and you have to choose the app to go back instead of automatically taking you back like other applications do.

I hope these get fixed in future updates but this is a version 1.0 review. What ESPN has made available for three dollars right now is more than just impressive. It is a complete package of ESPN, my favorite channel. I never have to fear of my DVR deleting Around the Horn or PTI because I have it on this app under podcasts. ESPN Radio has saved me from Vol Nation radio and now I listen to it more than I do my iPod’s music. It is definitely my favorite non-gaming app and is a steal for three dollars. Any sports fan with an iPhone/iPod touch should buy it immediately. You will not be disappointed.

Overall impression

★★★★★★★★★☆

Value for your money

★★★★★★★★★☆

Category: Lifestyle
Type: Talk Radio
Cost: 2.99
Rating: 12+

Current iTunes Reviews: 752 ratings, 4 stars

Description:

LISTEN TO LIVE, crystal clear radio streams from over 15 of your favorite ESPN Radio stations on your iPhone and iPod Touch including:

ESPN 1050 New York
ESPN 1250 Pittsburgh
ESPN 1000 Chicago
ESPN 103.3 Dallas
ESPN 710 Los Angeles

MORE Stations coming soon!
Including ESPN 1420 Hawaii and ESPN 1450 Atlantic City, NJ

FEATURING your favorite ESPN shows like Mike and Mike in the Morning, The Herd with Colin Cowherd, The Scott Van Pelt Show, The Michael Kay Show, The Michael Irvin Show and many more!

LISTEN to LIVE play by play broadcasts of your favorite College Football games, including the following events:

DATE GAME
Sat, Sep 26 Miami at Virginia Tech
Sat, Oct 3 Oklahoma at Miami
Sat, Oct 10 Auburn at Arkansas
Sat, Oct 17 Virginia Tech at Georgia Tech
Sat, Oct 24 Clemson at Miami
Sat, Oct 31 Mississippi at Auburn
Sat, Nov 7 USC at Arizona State
Sat, Nov 14 Florida at South Carolina
Sat, Nov 21 N. Carolina at Boston College
Fri, Nov 27 Alabama at Auburn
Sat, Nov 28 UCLA at USC
Sat, Dec 5 Arizona at USC
Sat, Dec 5 Big 12 Championship

addition games will be added throughout the season….

LISTEN to over 35 ESPN Radio podcasts right from your iPhone or iPod Touch including The BS Report with Bill Simmons, Pardon The Interruption, Around The Horn and Fantasy Focus.

LISTEN OnDemand to SportsCenter – updated every 20 minutes!

LIVE Scores and News Feeds of your favorite NFL, MLB, NHL, College and professional sports teams.

Stream or play live radio in the background while you check email, surf the web or use other applications!

TEXT CONNECT – send a message directly to the studio of your favorite ESPN Radio show.

System Requirements:
This application will work on ALL generation iPhone and iPod Touch devices running OS 3.0 or higher.