Playoff season is upon us, and whether you’re watching the NBA Playoffs or the fight for the Stanley Cup this year, Google has you covered with all of the latest news from multiple outlets, along with highlights, score analysis and the like, all available in Google Search, both in app and on the web, and on the Google Play Newsstand app or web page. The new sections can be accessed directly in Play Newsstand like any other category, and in Search, they can be accessed by simply doing a search for your favorite team, or for the particular league whose Playoffs you’re interested in seeing a breakdown of. Naturally, all of this content is available through a voice search using Google Assistant or Google Now. As a bonus, MLB information is available in a similar format in Search.
In Play Newsstand, the news sections are vertically scrollable, and gather up all of the relevant information and articles in one place for easy viewing. Animated highlights, scores at a glance, and a horizontally scrollable ticker that lets you pick a team to look at news and stats for are all on board. In Search, highlights, stats, and the latest news are all shown before the actual search results begin, and are horizontally scrollable and expandable into longer lists where applicable. Both styles are made to take all of the latest news and give you the highlights at a glance, with everything you may want to know from any source you prefer just a few clicks or taps away.
Google’s press release on the matter did not specifically mention Google Home, but it’s quite likely that it will at least be able to read back the latest information off the top of a Google search when asked. Owners of Amazon Alexa devices like the Echo can also ask it for updates and scores. Those looking to actually watch the games go down will have to look elsewhere, but Google’s solutions promise to keep fans plenty informed in case they can’t get to a TV or don’t have the right subscriptions to watch the action as it happens.
