Nationwide Tour’s Wilson hails WatchESPN, celebrating its birthday

As he travels across the country with the PGA’s Nationwide Tour, professional golfer Chris Wilson spends a lot of time in airports. But the 27-year-old has learned to make the most of layovers and delays.

“People are always peeking behind me at airports and asking how I can watch SportsCenter on my iPhone or laptop,” Wilson says.

As a big fan of the WatchESPN app, which celebrated its one-year anniversary on Sunday, Wilson’s all too happy to explain it to them.

“I have two favorite channels — ESPN and ESPN2,” Wilson says.

“With the WatchESPN app, I can have those two favorite channels with me all the time no matter where I am,” including at other sporting events. Wilson says he regularly uses the app to follow a second game while taking in one live.

“I remember the first time I used it,” he says. “I went to the Wake Forest versus Notre Dame game with my girlfriend, Courtney, and her family. They had an extra ticket and I couldn’t say no. But my Ohio State Buckeyes were playing at the same exact time.

“At the game, I kept refreshing the ESPN ScoreCenter app to follow along but Courtney actually suggested I use the WatchESPN app to watch Ohio State. So I watched both games and it was awesome.”

[EDITOR’S NOTE: This is probably a good time to explain that Wilson is not a paid-endorser for ESPN. He simply loves our products.]

Since then, Wilson uses the app to watch the Ohio State Buckeyes and his favorite studio shows. He also uses ESPN3 to watch Northwestern, his alma mater.

In February, he helped PGA golfer and fellow Big Ten fan Zach Johnson set up his WatchESPN account after Johnson complained on Twitter about not having ESPNU and the Iowa game in his hotel room.

“I had Time Warner Cable growing up in Ohio and now in North Carolina and WatchESPN is a huge added bonus for me. I know that if I had a friend who had WatchESPN and I didn’t, I’d seriously consider switching cable providers to get it. There’s nothing like having ESPN at your fingertips no matter where you are. And after you sign in the first time, it’s a breeze,” says Wilson, a Dublin, Ohio-native who turned professional in 2007.

How do you use #WatchESPN? Join the discussion on Twitter to help us celebrate #WatchESPN’s one year anniversary.

WatchESPN delivers live access to ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3 and ESPN Buzzer Beater/Goal Line on PCs, smartphones and tablets to fans who receive ESPN’s linear networks as part of their video subscription from Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks or Verizon FiOS TV. Comcast customers will have access to WatchESPN beginning in the spring of 2012. The app is available free for Android devices from the Google Play store and for Apple devices from the App Store, as well as online via WatchESPN.com.