Nokia and ESPN collaborated to create the immersive ESPN Sports Hub Windows Phone app, available exclusively for Nokia Lumia smartphones. The free application delivers comprehensive, up-to-date, intelligently localised content to sports fans around the world and can be fully personalised, resulting in a truly individual sports experience.The app was developed to combine Nokia’s user experience expertise with ESPN’s market-leading reach, insight and passion for a variety of sports around the globe. The exclusivity of the app to Nokia’s Lumia Windows Phone range provides a real USP for these devices, as well as showcasing to developers the potential for creating great apps in partnership with Nokia for the Windows Phone OS. The app was launched at a CES 2012 party to a host of rave press reviews, was supported by a dedicated UK and US TV advertising campaign and was pre-loaded on all Nokia Lumia phones in the US.The app provides immediate access to real-time scores, standings, news and video clips across eleven popular sports, including NBA, American football, soccer, Rugby, Formula 1 and cricket. In addition to news, the app features a regularly updated video clips section, populated with a wealth of ESPN’s high quality broadcast and online content. This ranges from 25 minute football magazine shows to quick ‘play of the day’ highlights. The app’s ‘social’ tab enables users to track breaking news Tweets from ESPN’s team of reporters and share favourite pieces of content across Facebook and Twitter.The unique news and sport-specific panorama screens within the app pull together all the relevant content on a single screen, allowing users to navigate intuitively with a simple swipe of a finger. Users scroll horizontally through scores, standings, news, video and social tabs, selecting items of interest with a single touch. Taking advantage of Windows Phone’s ‘deep pin’ functionality, consumers can personalise their app experience by pinning individual sports to the phone’s start screen.

The app has enjoyed great results since launch, with availability now spread to eight countries across three languages: English, Spanish and Portuguese. The usability and return interest of the app is evident through its successful consumer uptake, with weekly page views growing 27% week over week. In addition, cumulative downloads are growing double digits week over week. Interest around the app has been a key driver for uptake of the Nokia Lumia, while ESPN has benefited significantly in terms of audience brand perception.