When it comes to big-time sports events and social media, Facebook wants you to talk trash with your friends—so much so that they've launched a new built-in feature called Sports Stadium—a hub that will bring every facet of sports coverage and conversation to the small screen while you watch the game on the big screen.
With the launch of Sports Stadium coinciding with the lead-up to Superbowl 50, the Facebook execs are hoping to take a page out of Twitter's book, and leverage their conversational advantage to keep users on their own site.
Facebook sets up real-time 'Sports Stadium' for live chats and scores during big games. https://t.co/UqysqTSz7Ypic.twitter.com/fanaBlK66h
— Macworld (@macworld) January 21, 2016
According to the Facebook Newsroom, the hub will let users see the following:
-Posts from your friends, and their comments on plays
-Posts and commentary from experts, like teams, leagues and journalists, with easy access to their Pages
-Live scores, stats and a play-by-play
-Game info, like where to find the game on TV
The goal of this new feature is to engage Facebook users and get them involved in the fast-paced, exciting coverage and discussion, according to Project Manager Steve Kafka. "Maybe you weren't paying attention and then you see your friends are having this discussion and that can pull you into the game," says Kafka.
Note: Sports Stadium is only available for Facebook iOS.
At this moment, the feature will only be supporting live American football, but Facebook says that it will be expanded to feature other sports and countries in the near future. The NFL's AFC Championship game between the New England Patriots and the Denver Broncos will be Sports Stadiums' first test—will the venue attract enough social media followers to make things interesting? Will it be enough to pull away seasoned Twitter veterans on gameday? We'll find out on Sunday.
Trash-talk away, gents.
