Is the NBC Sports Live Extra app a viable app for EPL fans?

I have used the app since the beginning of the season.  Some positives are that the app is completely free. All that is required, after the download, is to sign in with your cable provider and off you go.

When I started using the app one of the first stumbling blocks was that the streams took a while to load. Even after the loading was completed the viewers had to wait for the stream to de-pixilate and then buffer itself before you got a good clean picture.  However, after a few updates during the season, streaming has improved.

The interface has gotten better.  In the past few months the updates have allowed the viewers to watch entire games as well as game highlights, and short clips on best goals, best assists and best saves.  The app also offers full replays of some of the games.

There is always room for improvement and here are a few things I would like to see.

  • While the interface is more streamlined, I do wish sometimes when I click an icon, that it wouldn’t push me out of the Premier League tab.  We get it NBC, you want users to see what other sports you are broadcasting but if you keep pushing me out, it’s a tad bit annoying to go in again to find what I was looking for
  • NBC needs to do something with the dead space seen during breaks that tells you that coverage will return soon because the terrestrial channels are on commercial break.  I feel that instead of keeping viewers on a dead screen this might be a good time to possible show scores, and maybe even some of the social media feeds.
  • I do wish that NBC would shrink the scoreboard down a bit for next season as it does take up quite a bit of real estate on the screen and it can be a bit distracting.

And of course I do have a wish list of features I would like to see added.

  • It would be nice to see some of the weekly shows added to the app to watch at any time. While the highlights that are contained in the app are okay for a quick view, a more robust show such as Premiere League Match of the Day would be nice.
  • More full game replays would be nice.  The app does have an option to watch replays of some of the games, but it would be really nice to add them all in.
  • Of course, the biggest item on the  wish list would be the inclusion of more leagues. Unfortunately, beIN Sports has a grip on the rest of football.
  • I do feel that NBC Sports has done a great job of getting it right with this app it will be interesting to see what is going to happen as the season draws to a close and teams face relegation or promotion from the lower league

All in all, I am pretty satisfied with this app.  It has served me pretty well on weekends when I have been away from my TV and needed to get my footy fix in. One of my best experiences was back in October while away in Las Vegas and getting up extra early to watch on my iPad and didn’t have to do extra work or work some IT voodoo just to watch my games. This is probably one of the best free apps you will ever use especially across multiple devices.  As always, be mindful of your data usage when using this app.  NBC has done a good job and the app gets better with every update. If you have not gotten it by now, please get it and try it. If you like it, spread the word.