Sports mobile apps have come a long way since the days when the best you could hope for was an outdated score update. Nowadays, apps need to be not only functional but also provide fans with exclusive content, bonus features, and anything else that’s going to make them want to keep it installed on their phone. Some of our favorite sports apps include those that bring us closer to the games we watch, the team we support, and the athletes we follow.
While media companies, startups, and pro sports leagues have been at the forefront of app development in recent years, the holy grail for franchises is to have their own apps where dedicated fanbases can congregate to watch games and interact with their specific content. The San Jose Sharks recently went all-in on a website and mobile app strategy for audio broadcasts and other franchises are following suit.
Inter Miami CF of the MLS is hoping its fans will follow them on an immersive experience through their brand-new mobile app. The free Inter Miami mobile app will launch the new features to local fans on Saturday, June 19 to coincide with the team’s match against DC United. Those who download the app and are within Inter Miami’s broadcast rights territory will have the ability to live-stream this and other matches, as well as take part in a “watch party” feature that allows to video chat with others during the game.
The watch-party feature allows up to eight people to host a video chat while also viewing live footage of the Inter Miami CF match. Viewers will see one another as thumbnail images that “float” over the match broadcast. The thumbnail images are also movable based on how the user wants to layout their screen.
Other features available in the app include private message live chats, real-time stats, and the ability to keep up with Inter Miami CF social media conversations without leaving the broadcast.
Inter Miami CF partnered with video technology firm StreamLayer and sports-technology service Pumpjack Dataworks to create the app, which expands on the previously available ability to live-stream matches. Per a release, the franchise says that more functionality, including gamification, e-commerce, and sponsorship integrations, could be added through the MLS season.
Innovation is one thing, but will enough Inter Miami CF fans download the app to figure out how to take advantage of the features? That’s what plenty of other sports teams are going to be keeping an eye on as the app enters the marketplace.
