Live scoreboards and game pages for news and media sites

Start with the free widget

If you just need scores on a page today, the free scoreboard widget embeds one league with no key and refreshes every 60 seconds. When you want your own layout, game pages or more leagues, move to the API below.

Cache once, serve every reader

GET /events returns the league's current scoreboard: teams, logos, colours, scores, status.state (pre, in, post) and the clock. Cache it on the server and every page view reads the cache. Responses carry X-RateLimit-* headers so you can watch your usage.

// app/api/scores/[league]/route.ts
const SPORT = { nfl: 'football', 'college-football': 'football', nba: 'basketball', mlb: 'baseball', nhl: 'hockey', 'eng.1': 'soccer' };

export const revalidate = 60; // one upstream call per league per minute, whatever your traffic

export async function GET(_req: Request, { params }: { params: { league: string } }) {
  const sport = SPORT[params.league as keyof typeof SPORT];
  if (!sport) return Response.json({ error: 'unknown league' }, { status: 404 });
  const res = await fetch(`https://www.realtimesportsapi.com/api/v1/sports/${sport}/leagues/${params.league}/events`, {
    headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.RSA_API_KEY}` },
    next: { revalidate: 60 }
  });
  const { data } = await res.json();
  return Response.json(data.map((e: any) => ({
    id: e.id, name: e.shortName, state: e.status.state, detail: e.status.detail,
    home: { abbr: e.homeTeam.abbreviation, score: e.homeTeam.score, logo: e.homeTeam.logo },
    away: { abbr: e.awayTeam.abbreviation, score: e.awayTeam.score, logo: e.awayTeam.logo }
  })));
}

Game pages that update without a refresh

For a live blog or game page, keep one WebSocket connection on your server, subscribe to event_score_change and event_status_change for the league, and push changes to readers over your own Server-Sent Events or socket layer. Use frequency: "30s" on status updates to conflate clock ticks; score changes, live and final are always sent immediately.

// Server-side only: your API key never ships to browsers or apps.
const res = await fetch('https://www.realtimesportsapi.com/api/websocket/auth', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.RSA_API_KEY}` }
});
const { data } = await res.json();          // data.url, data.token (valid 1 hour)
const ws = new WebSocket(`${data.url}?token=${data.token}`);
ws.onopen = () => {
  ws.send(JSON.stringify({ type: 'subscribe', event: 'event_score_change', filters: { sport: 'football', league: 'nfl' } }));
  ws.send(JSON.stringify({ type: 'subscribe', event: 'event_status_change', filters: { sport: 'football', league: 'nfl' }, frequency: '30s' }));
};
ws.onmessage = (e) => {
  const msg = JSON.parse(e.data);
  if (msg.type.startsWith('event_')) broadcastToReaders(msg.data.eventId, msg); // your SSE / socket fan-out
};

Beyond the scoreboard

Game pages can add play-by-play, box scores (NFL, college football, NBA, MLB), team schedules, rosters, injuries (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL) and league news headlines. See what each endpoint returns by league before you design a page around one.

Endpoints used

• GET /sports/{sport}/leagues/{league}/events
• GET /sports/{sport}/leagues/{league}/events/{eventId}
• GET /sports/{sport}/leagues/{league}/events/{eventId}/plays
• GET /sports/{sport}/leagues/{league}/seasons/{season}/schedule
• POST /websocket/auth

Full reference: docs · OpenAPI · what each endpoint returns, by league

Plans

Every successful REST call counts as one call. Over the limit you get HTTP 429 with a Retry-After header. No SLA. Full pricing.

FAQ

Can I display the data on a commercial site?

Yes, within the terms; see the usage rights section of the FAQ. Team names and logos may be trademarks of their owners.

Does a traffic spike increase my bill?

Not if you cache. Usage counts API calls and WebSocket messages, not your page views. A 60-second server cache is one call per league per minute.

How fresh are the scores?

Typically 20-30 seconds behind live play. There is no SLA.

Which leagues are covered?

NFL, college football, NBA, men's college basketball, MLB, NHL and 23 soccer competitions including MLS and the Premier League.

Complete builds to start from

• Build a live scoreboard with Next.js
• Add a live score overlay to your stream

Other use cases

• Score alerts for your sports app, without polling
• Player stats and box scores for fantasy platforms
• Live scores on the screens in your venue
• A play-by-play feed for your analytics stack
• Stream live scores to your backend over WebSocket
• Sports data for a startup, from prototype to scale