ESPN Radio iPhone App Adds Host of New Enhancements Including Personalization and Geolocation Support

ESPN today unveiled ESPN Radio 3.0, its newest and most personalized iPhone app to date. The new version of the app, sponsored by 1-800-Flowers.com, continues to provide millions of ESPN Radio listeners access to live, crystal clear radio streams from more than 20 ESPN Radio stations – including fan favorite ESPN Radio network shows Mike & Mike in the Morning, The Herd with Colin Cowherd and more – the latest SportsCenter updates every 20 minutes; popular podcasts like the B.S. Report with Bill Simmons; select play-by-play broadcasts, including the college football Bowl Championship Series; and live scores, newsfeeds and text messaging directly to ESPN Radio and ESPN affiliate stations. ESPN Radio 3.0 is available now to current users via a free upgrade and to new users for download on iTunes for $2.99.

“The ESPN Radio app has been one of the most successful apps since its launch in September 2009, spending the better part of the last 16 months as the most downloaded paid sports app in the marketplace,” said Marc Horine, vice president of digital media for ESPN. “Our latest version takes app personalization to new heights, providing millions of ESPN listeners a custom, world-class audio experience to specific teams, shows, podcasts, and stations.”

New features and enhancements focused on personalization include:

• myESPN: Customized audio of favorite teams automatically pulled into the app (set up directly in the app or through ESPN.com);
• My Favorites: Collection of favorite stations, shows and podcasts from both local and national content;
• Searchable Audio: Search tens of thousands of audio clips by topic (player, team, sport, league, etc.);
• Audio On-Demand: Pause, rewind and fast forward on-demand audio;
• Geo-location-based Functionality: Enables a ready list of the closest ESPN affiliate stations;
• Podcasts: More than 40 ESPN Radio podcasts available, including the Award-Winning B.S. Report with Bill Simmons and Fantasy Focus, as well as Pardon The Interruption, Around The Horn and Football Today;
• SportsCenter Updates: Local and national 24/7 ESPN Radio SportsCenter updates every 20 minutes;
• ESPN Local: News and daily SportsCenter video updates from ESPN’s local sites: Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, and New York;
• Play-by-Play Broadcasts: Listen in real-time to select play-by-play for events like college basketball and the college football Bowl Championship Series;
• Social Media Integrations: Share what users are listening to via Facebook and Twitter;
• ESPN Bottomline: The latest news and scores in the world of sports.

The launch of ESPN Radio 3.0 marks the 10th anniversary of ESPNRadio.com, which in 2010 remained the most listened to live stream of any terrestrial broadcaster in the world – reaching more than three million unique users per month (source: Omniture) and one million unique listeners per month, more than double the previous year (source: Ando Media).  ESPNRadio.com also was the largest, most listened to talk format stream, both terrestrially and via Internet-only streaming, generating nearly 10 million total sessions per month, up 33% in 2010.  In addition, ESPN Podcasts recorded a year-to-year increase of more than 23%, reaching 156 million downloads through ESPN PodCenter and iTunes). This includes The B.S. Report with Bill Simmons, which logged more than 42 million downloads in 2010.

To download the newly enhanced version of ESPN Radio, click here.