Interactive ESPN TV App for Basketball Tournament
Verizon and ESPN have launched a new interactive way for fans to build and follow tournament brackets during the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
Through the ESPN “Tournament Challenge” TV app, Verizon FiOS TV customers can access and edit their tournament brackets right from their televisions, tablets, computers and wireless phones — throughout the tournament.
Building on the integration of the ESPN Fantasy Football in the fall, ESPN and Verizon collaborated to bring fans a new experience to follow all the exciting hoops action on a variety of platforms.
“The Borderless Lifestyle is about breaking down old technology boundaries and freeing consumers to enjoy entertainment on their own terms,” said Angie Klein, vice president of product management for Verizon. “The ‘Tournament Challenge’ app is another way to interact with TV, providing a game-changing entertainment experience that only FiOS TV customers can enjoy this tournament season.”
Matt Murphy, senior vice president, digital video distribution, Disney and ESPN Media Networks, said, “Verizon’s commitment to improving the TV user experience and bringing Internet functionality to all screens served as a catalyst for integrating ‘Tournament Challenge’ across the many platforms available to Verizon FiOS customers.”
The Verizon TV app will provide instant on-screen access to the viewer’s personalized ESPN bracket throughout the tournament. Users can create and check their brackets anytime by clicking on the “Widgets” button on the FiOS TV remote control, selecting “FiOS TV Widgets,” and selecting the ESPN Tournament Challenge icon under the Featured, Sports and Games categories.
After launching the app, users will be able to navigate between live tournament games and the viewer’s personalized, updated bracket on the television screen. Participants can also use a tablet, computer or smart phone to fill out and view their brackets.
Participants must finalize the bracket winner prior to the scheduled tip-off time of the first game in the tournament.
Photo courtesy: Verizon
