Top Live Sports Streaming Apps for iOS

Smartphones are fantastic. They've opened up a world of possibilities, and allow us to keep in touch with everyone and keep on top of everything, even when we're on the move. Want to check your calendar to make sure appointments don't clash? It's accessible in the palm of your hand. Left the office and forgot to send an important email? Not a problem, you can do it on the train home with a couple of taps on your screen.

One thing we hate to miss when we're busy is watching the latest sports events. Personally, I hate missing football. But again, thanks to advancements in technology, and always having my smartphone on me, I can easily tap an app to watch the latest game live, whether I'm sat at a wedding I'd prefer not to be at, or in the queue for a roller coaster at a theme park. Both of which I have done on occasion, to the displeasure of my partner.

But what are the best apps for doing this? Which are the key ones you need to make sure you don't miss out on everything that is going on? Well, we're about to answer those questions with this list we've put together of the top live sports streaming apps for iOS.

Broadcasters Apps

Now we've been a bit generic here, but with good reason. Depending on which sports it is you have a vested interest in, and which broadcasters have the rights to air those sports, the apps you'll want to check out may vary. For example, in the UK, if you want Champions League football, you'll want to download the BT Sports app, and in the US, if you enjoy the NBA, you'll want to look at somewhere such as ESPN.

The reason these apps are great is because if you usually have the sports packages on TV anyway, you get free access to their applications. But, they also have options, which are much cheaper, to just have access to the application and not the TV packages. The second option is the best though, because not only does it allow you to watch live sports on the go, but if you have a Smart TV, or a device like a firestick that transforms your TV into one, then you can cast the display from your smartphone to the TV, saving you money whilst still giving you access.

Betting Apps

These may not sound like something you'll need to stream live sports, but you would be very surprised. Many of the top sports betting sites not only allow you to keep up to date in real-time with what is going on in your favourite sports, as well as allowing you to place bets on many events, they also stream live sports too.

Now, you're not likely to find the Red Sox vs the Yankees on there, or Liverpool FC vs Manchester City FC, the main broadcasters tend to have their rights tied up. But, they do offer much smaller events, or events from different countries across the world. So they're not ideal for everyone if you're looking to follow specific teams, but they are great if you enjoy sport as a neutral too.

Now, there is sometimes a catch depending on the apps you use. You may have to place a minimum bet on the event to watch it, but this can be literally pennies. So compared to the price you would pay to a broadcaster, it costs next to nothing. And you have a chance of getting money back as well.

Sports Subscription Services

Considering how long we've had the likes of Netflix, it seems surprising that it has taken so long for a sports version of these services to pop up. Now, you may be thinking of services like Amazon Prime Sports, and whilst that is kind of an option, they don't tend to offer a lot of live sports, and when they do, it tends to be for the less popular ones such as tennis. But in recent years they have begun to show sports like the NFL and English Premier League, and with resounding success.

But there is a new player on the scene now, DAZN. They're a company that has been around a while, but they've only just really started gaining momentum. Recently they've signed massive contracts to show live boxing and leagues such as the Bundesliga in Germany. Therefore, you may need a VPN to access some of their geo-locked content, but both a VPN and DAZN together still work out cheaper than a sports package, and you get that PPV experience when they show events, without the high price tags.

Conclusion

There are a whole bunch of apps out there that will let you watch live sports on your iOS device. It may well mean investing in a combination of different apps to get everything you want but that can still be cheaper than the cost you would pay to your TV subscriber. And we must say, we've only listed all the legal ones, which does mean there is always a cost. But if you're not looking for the more legit applications, a quick google search will reveal many more that cost next to nothing. Not that we condone pirating of course.