Windows Mobile Receives WatchESPN

ESPN, the self-proclaimed “worldwide leader in sports,” has at last released their WatchESPN mobile app for Windows devices. The free-to-download app is available for all Windows 8/8.1 devices and allows streaming sports directly to your mobile device. Of course the standard caveat with any WatchESPN app is that a cable television subscription in order to access the live streams.

Despite requiring a TV package, seeing the field of apps expand for Windows users is a good sign. Though they sold not even 3% of the smartphone market in the third quarter of 2014, Windows phones may very well be on the rise. Microsoft has plans to grow their app market, potentially through the Android app market. As the IDC graphic below illustrates, the vast majority of smartphone units sold in Q3 2014 were on the Android platform — mostly the more budget-rate devices for sub-$200.

Microsoft’s recent focus has been on that particular price point — they sport four unlocked devices for less than $200 each as well as 14 different phones below that either on contract or off. If adding the WatchESPN app is the beginning of a new era of Windows smartphones, all the better for competition.