Facebook joins the sports game with its own Sports Stadium

Determined not to miss out on the buzz generated by social media users during sports events, Facebook has launched a ‘Sports Stadium’ feature which allows Facebook users to experience sports in real-time with their Facebook friends.

Following in the footsteps of the likes of Twitter and Snapchat which have rolled out features like ‘Twitter Moments’ and the ‘Live story’, Facebook will capitalise on being the most popular social media platform on the internet by building a hub for its estimated “650 million sports fans”.

The new feature will allow users to follow a “chronological news feed” on a specific sports event where they’ll be able to see; posts from friends regarding plays etc, posts and commentary from experts like times, leagues and journalists, live scores, statistics and game information like where to find it on TV.Screenshot 1 Matchup and Friends

Statistics retrieved in August said that 81% of Twitter users said that they Tweet or follow Tweets whilst watching sport on TV and with both Twitter and Snapchat entering the game with their features that run well with sports events, Facebook are clearly trying to make up lost ground.

Via their website, Facebook said that they want their platform to be an add-on experience.

“You can follow the action as the game unfolds with a live play-by-play, and even like, comment on, and share individual plays. You can also get up to speed quickly with live scores and the most discussed plays. It’s a second-screen experience that we hope makes watching the broadcast even better”

The feature will be rolled out initially for American football games but it will also support other sports including football and basketball with more coming soon.

True to how most social platforms roll out their own tech, the experience is available on iPhones in the US but will expand to other platforms and other global regions in the coming weeks.

How ever it’s used, it is certainly an exciting time for sports and social media enthusiasts.

Facebook Sports Stadium

Today we’re launching the Facebook Sports Stadium, a dedicated place to experience sports in real-time with your friends and the world. Check out our product announcement here: http://newsroom.fb.com/news/2016/01/facebook-sports-stadium With 650 million sports fans, Facebook is the world’s largest stadium. People already turn to Facebook to celebrate, commiserate, and talk trash with their friends and other fans.Now we’ve built a place devoted to sports so you can get the feeling you’re watching the game with your friends even when you aren’t together.

Posted by Sports on Facebook on Wednesday, 20 January 2016

About author

Matt Tewhatu
Matt Tewhatu 155 posts

Matt is the editor of Digital Sport and Chief of Snack Media's rugby division and has a journalistic background both here in UK, Australia and in his native New Zealand. Follow him on Twitter @mtewhatu

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