BBC launches 360-degree video service for Rio 2016

The BBC has launched its first ever 360-degree video service in a bid to offer more immersive programming during the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

The experimental service – rolling out from today – aims to bring fans closer to the action than ever before by offering a multi-angle perspective on a range of events with 360-degree views of the opening and closing ceremonies.

The British broadcaster said it would be “the next best thing” for those that can’t make it over to Brazil for this year’s Games. The full schedule of live 360-degree content to expect throughout the games can be found here.

NFL and Snapchat make their partnership official

The NFL has announced a multi-year deal with Snapchat, with Snapchat Discover and NFL Media set to produce highlights from every single game next season, including the Super Bowl.

Other major sports leagues including the MLB, NCAA, NHL, NBA, and PGA also have Live Stories partnerships with Snapchat, which also has a deal with NBC Universal to feature content from the Rio Olympics.

The new deal sees the NFL become the first sports league with a “Discover” channel, where content from publishers such as Vice and MTV appears.

International Olympics Committee wants to ban GIFs

From poor living conditions for athletes, corruption, pollution and the danger posed by the Zika virus, one would think that GIFs would be the least of the IOC’s worries. Alas, the International Olympics Committee has issued a statement expressly prohibiting the use of animated images derived from its events.

It’s not the first attempt made to control social media activity during the games. This is, of course, the same committee that forbids non-sponsors from using words such as “summer,” “gold,” “games,” “effort,” “victory,” “Rio” and “2016”, so it should perhaps come as no surprise that our treasured GIF is the latest to fall under the sword.

Bleacher Report and Notre Dame announce exclusive social content partnership

Bleacher Report and the University of Notre Dame on Thursday announced an exclusive social content partnership for the 2016 season.

Bleacher Report’s social platforms, which tout more than 200 million users, will distribute content through a variety of channels. Most notably, fans will be able to access exclusive content through Facebook Live streams, Snapchat takeovers, short-form social packages and video features:

The start of something new.@NDFootball x @BleacherReport

Coming this fall… #BRxND pic.twitter.com/8dbeU1jHvN

— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) August 4, 2016

Ozil and Gundogan in Twitter mix-up

And finally, being a professional footballer and running a full-time social media account can be hard work, obviously too much work for Mesut Ozil and Ilkay Gundogan.

Man City’s new summer signing Gundogan sent out a message via his official @Guendogan8 Twitter account on Sunday with a picture of Germany team-mate Ozil sitting alongside Jack Wilshere and Petr Cech.

Ozil was back early from his holidays to watch the Gunners’ 3-1 victory over Chivas in California, but Gundogan – or more likely the PR team manning the pair’s Twitter accounts – seemed to have a brief identity crisis:

The lesson is to always check who you’re logged in as, particularly if you manage an important account: