DirecTV Launches New Sports Feature

Those sports fans who subscribe to DirecTV are probably well aware of the satellite provider's special Masters coverage. Launched in 2008, subscribers get - free of charge - four channels of Masters coverage, plus a mix channel, and constant access to the tournament leaderboard.

I'm not here to shill for DirecTV, but they have launched a new feature that is another huge plus for sports fans.

While watching the NHL playoffs Monday night, I noticed a red button popped up on the bottom right-hand corner of my screen. It's a relatively new gadget called "ScoreGuide".

Viewers will be alerted to ScoreGuide by a small on-screen icon and have access to the new feature on more than 200 DIRECTV sports channels, including regional sports networks, DIRECTV sports subscription channels (channels 700-799), and national cable networks that primarily cover sports.

ScoreGuide, offered compliments of DIRECTV, displays a lineup of sporting events in progress, as well as upcoming daily and weekly events. ScoreGuide also provides DIRECTV channel numbers associated with each of the events and allows customers to tune to those specific channels with the push of a button on their remote control.

The photo above and to the right was taken Tuesday afternoon, during the NHL Network's rebroadcast of Monday's Chicago-Calgary playoff game.

I condensed the ScoreGuide to show how easy it is to track a single game, something many NHL fans will want to do Tuesday night, when two Stanley Cup Playoff Game 7s are played practically at the same time. It can also be left open, and it will then take up a good chunk of the right-hand side of the screen.

However, this is hardly an NHL-centric feature. ScoreGuide will track all NHL, NBA, Major League Baseball, NFL, and major college sports scores. The press release also touts updates on big events in golf and tennis, and eventually the latest leaders from NASCAR races.

It's a cool feature that should make it easier for fans of multiple sports to track scores of games going on at the same time, without having to flip to a bunch of different channels or check the internet.