What We Check Before Submitting a Sports App to an App Store

Every app-store submission is a moment of truth. Once the app is in review, you cannot make changes — you can only wait, and hope that the reviewer does not find something that sends the submission back. After enough submissions, you develop a pre-submission checklist that you run through every time, because the things that cause rejections are almost always the same things.

This is what we check before submitting a sports streaming app to Apple App Store or Google Play. It is not exhaustive — platform requirements change, and specific apps have specific requirements — but it covers the categories that cause the most problems.

Store Listing and Metadata

The store listing is the first thing a reviewer sees. An incomplete or inaccurate listing creates a bad first impression and can cause rejection before the reviewer even opens the app.

We check: the app title matches what appears inside the app; the description accurately describes what the app does and what content is available; the screenshots show the actual app UI (not mockups or marketing images); the content rating questionnaire is complete and accurate; and the privacy policy URL is live and accessible without authentication.

For Android TV submissions specifically, we verify that the TV banner (1280 × 720 px) is present and correctly sized, and that TV screenshots are included. These are separate from the mobile assets and are commonly missing on first submission.

Authentication and Account Creation

Both Apple and Google require that reviewers can access the app. If the app requires authentication, we provide test credentials in the submission notes. If the app requires a subscription to access content, we either provide a test account with access or ensure that the app has a meaningful free tier that the reviewer can evaluate.

We test the authentication flow end-to-end before submission: account creation, login, password reset, and logout. We also test the error states — what happens when the user enters incorrect credentials, when the network is unavailable, and when the authentication service is slow to respond.

For Apple submissions, we pay particular attention to the in-app purchase and subscription flows. Apple has specific requirements around how subscriptions are presented, how pricing is displayed, and how users can manage or cancel subscriptions. These requirements change periodically and are worth reviewing against the current App Store Review Guidelines before each submission.

Content and Live Stream Testing

We test video playback before every submission. This sounds obvious, but it is easy to introduce a regression in the video player during a build cycle. We test both VOD and live stream playback, including the transition from live to replay after an event ends.

For live stream testing, we use a test stream rather than waiting for a scheduled event. A test stream that mimics the characteristics of a real live stream — including SCTE-35 markers for ad breaks, if the app serves ads — is worth maintaining for exactly this purpose.

We also check that the content catalog is populated with accurate metadata. A reviewer who opens the app and sees placeholder titles, missing artwork, or incorrect event times will have a poor impression of the product, even if the underlying technology is sound.

Privacy Disclosures and Data Safety

Privacy disclosure requirements have become significantly more stringent over the past several years. Both Apple and Google require detailed disclosures about what data the app collects, how it is used, and whether it is shared with third parties.

We review the privacy policy against the actual data collection behavior of the app before each submission. If the app has been updated to collect new data or use data in a new way, the privacy policy must be updated to reflect this. A mismatch between the privacy policy and the actual data practices is a policy violation on both platforms.

For Google Play, we review the data safety section in the Play Console. For Apple, we review the App Privacy section in App Store Connect. Both require accurate, complete information about data collection and use.

The Items That Most Commonly Cause Rejection

In our experience, the most common rejection reasons for sports streaming apps are:

• 1.Missing or incorrect TV assets — particularly the Android TV banner and TV screenshots.
• 2.Incomplete data safety or privacy disclosures — the questionnaire is incomplete, or the privacy policy does not match the actual data practices.
• 3.Authentication issues — the reviewer cannot log in with the provided test credentials, or the login flow crashes.
• 4.Subscription flow issues — particularly on iOS, where Apple has specific requirements about how subscriptions are presented and managed.
• 5.Crashes during review — the app crashes on the reviewer's device, often because the reviewer is using a device or OS version that was not included in the test matrix.