Up until now, Twitter has been the social media platform of choice among sports fans who wanted to share commentary and connect with other fans and athletes. In an effort to bring some of that conversation to Facebook, the platform recently launched its Sports Stadium feature, which allows fans the opportunity to comment, follow with a live play-by-play, and share individual plays, sort of like you do on Twitter.
You May Also Like: Facebook India posts 27% rise in revenues to Rs 123.5 crore
Facebook launched a new feature called Sports Stadium. This feature targets sports fans, say Engadget.
Sports Stadium allows fans to experience sports in “real-time with your friends and the world.” You don’t necessarily have to be together to experience the latest football game.
“With 650 million sports fans, Facebook is the world’s largest stadium,” says Facebook Newsroom. “People already turn to Facebook to celebrate, commiserate and talk trash with their friends and other fans.”
Facebook Sports Stadium includes four primary tabs. One tab will provide play-by-play updates and scoring as well as videos, while another tab will show posts from your friends that are game-specific, in chronological order. A third tab will show expert commentary from journalists, athletes, and teams, and the last tab will include game statistics. The four tabs neatly separate nearly every aspect of the game, allowing you to select the game-related content that you want to follow — something that Twitter does not yet offer.
The new sports feature makes its debut in time for the playoffs and the Super Bowl. It also aligns with the recent announcement that the platform will work with Nielsen TV ratings on user engagement and TV content, which has also been an area dominated by Twitter. Facebook Sports Stadium is currently available for American football games for iPhone users in the U.S., and support for other sports, including basketball and soccer, as well as other platforms, is expected very soon.