NFL Now is about video, and the mobile application contains a deep library of it. Customization makes the experience more personal, and access to game highlights is a bonus. Unfortunately, access hurdles put a damper on the fun. NFL Now for iPhone is an ad-supported free download developed by NFL Media. For $1.99 per month, users can upgrade to NFL Now Plus for access to highlight video and the NFL Films archive of shows and documentaries. An NFL.com account is required to access the app’s content, as is a 15-second ad. The product is currently available on Windows, Android and Amazon devices in addition to iOS. This review was conducted on an iPhone 5 version 7.1.2, with AT&T LTE service.
TOUCHDOWNS: Selecting favorite teams and players produces a custom video playlist called My Channel. This collects relevant video and inserts it into a feed for the user. A Settings section allows users to adjust the content mix in My Channel to their liking. The app connects with its sister product, NFL Fantasy, and conveniently pulls in a user’s team members for turnkey access to even more custom content. Beneath this, on-demand video is presented in categories like Fantasy Football, Most Popular and Can't Miss Plays. There are also archives for each NFL division. For paid users, game highlights are well done, providing users with a few dozen replays per game. Highlights are accompanied by live scores, and each week of games contains a score and highlight library. They can also be viewed for a user's favorite players only. All video libraries, including highlights, are filterable by team for quicker access to desired clips. A Live section delivers streaming content to the product, but only for select shows and events. Last night, Giants and Lions postgame shows were made available, and a show called Fantasy Live is scheduled to air today at 4:00pm ET.
FUMBLES: A required 15-second ad plays each time the app is launched, and sometimes the app gets stuck here. Crashes elsewhere were limited. The overall presentation -- particularly the way the content is organized -- could be better, and the video archive would be more effective if it was searchable. The My Channel feed does not show users what comes next, and this takes away from the flow. There are thumbs-up and thumbs-down icons within each video, but when tapped, nothing happens. I assumed this would connect to Facebook, but that was not the case. The app's Live section does not house much at the moment, but it does include a useful programming calendar feature. Finally, game highlights take about 10 minutes to populate, and while they are certainly useful for users looking to relive game footage, I am not sure how a monthly fee will strike them.
BOTTOM LINE: NFL Now has potential, but it is not quite there yet. The non-stop stream of user-driven video works, and the depth of video is there, but the presentation could use some tweaking. A required ad at the start of each session is bold. Once is okay, but every time seems excessive, and a pay model for highlights will turn some users away. Reviewers on iTunes do not like the required ad, the registration requirement or the frequent crashes, but they give the app three stars overall. I give it 2.5 stars for now, but I expect to see more updates as the season progresses.
Amie Sheridan (amie.sheridan31@gmail.com) is a freelance writer in Philadelphia.
See Sheridan's previous App Review submissions for THE DAILY:
