There are a "large number of apps devoted" to the Olympics this year, including the official Rio 2016 app that "centers on the Olympic torch relay, following the famous flame as it makes its way through Brazil and ultimately into the Olympic stadium," according to Kit Eaton of the N.Y. TIMES. There also is an official app from the IOC that "gives you access to official news and articles, not just about the Rio games but also about Olympic Games" dating back to 1896. While both apps are free, "they suffer from seemingly being designed by committee." They are "bland in style and occasionally awkward to navigate, and the language is stilted." For a much more "dynamic take on Olympic news, check out the NBC Olympics app," which has a more "modern design and lots of high-quality videos." With NBC's app, users can "see content that’s trending, sort videos and articles by individual sports, browse information about the medals race, and more." As the Olympics begin, the app "will most likely be even more useful as a news source, and you can set it to notify you of breaking events." Though NBC's app is "more interesting than some rivals, it occasionally takes you to news pages on NBC’s website, which makes navigating back and forth through the articles in the app frustrating at times." The ESPN app is "even better designed" than NBC's app and has "sections for different sports, a podcast-listening mode, and videos, photos and text about breaking sports news" (N.Y. TIMES, 7/21).
SMELLS LIKE TEAM SPIRIT: The USOC will officially name the Rio Games team on Saturday during a live stream on Periscope. The announcement show will be available on the @TeamUSA Twitter account at 3:45pm ET. Four-time Gold Medalist Janet Evans will host the show from the USOC’s Road to Rio Tour presented by Liberty Mutual experiential marketing tour in Venice Beach (Ben Fischer, Staff Writer).
