Apple this morning launched a new Sports section in its TV app, which appears to be available on devices running iOS 11.2 and tvOS 11.2. Sports can be accessed through the new dedicated Sports tab at the bottom of the app, located next to the "Watch Now" button.
First announced in September, the TV app's Sports section is designed to allow users to watch live sports games through integration with ESPN. Right now, ESPN appears to be the only app offering content through the TV app's Sports category, but additional Sports-oriented apps could offer support in the future.
Right now, since it's basketball season and there are several basketball games this afternoon, the TV app focuses heavily on basketball content. There are links to NBA games, men's college basketball, and women's college basketball, along with re-aired content and separate browsing sections for football and rugby.
Apple plans to change the focus of the app regularly to highlight relevant sports games that are upcoming, so when there are football games on, football will be more heavily prominent.
In a "Favorites" section of the app, there's an option to pick all of your favorite MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL, MLS, and other teams, which will tailor the content displayed in the app to your interests. The TV app will also send out notifications when important games you're interested in are airing, and those notification options can be customized in the Notifications section of the Settings app. You can also choose whether or not to display live sports scores in the TV section of the Settings app.
Beta testers who are running iOS 11.2 or tvOS 11.2 should be able to access the new Sports portion of the TV app starting today.
