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Future of TV Rio Olympics Olympics

How Facebook Live became a big part of the Rio Olympics

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By Natan Edelsburg, SVP

August 22, 2016 | 3 min read

With the Olympics officially over, there's one thing that's clear. Facebook Live played a huge part in how networks, brands and athletes delivered real-time, behind-the-scenes looks into Rio.

Rio 2016

Facebook Live during the Rio 2016 Olympics

NBC's official live streaming broke records and endless media companies used Facebook Live for their coverage. This included, ABC News, Access Hollywood, BBC Sport, CNN, Conde Nast, DC Esportes, The New York Times, People Magazine, RĂ¡dio BandNews FM, Reuters, The Today Show, US Weekly, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Sports and 24horas.

Facebook recently detailed the use of the platform on their media blog here and here. The maturation of this platform is a new milestone for live as it becomes an official part of the mix.

Update: They've also published some impressive numbers around the usage. "277 million unique people had 1.5billion interactions through the Olympics," during the time frame they tracked according to Facebook. Phelps' Facebook Live where he discussed his retirement is at nearly 4 million views.

Masuma Ahuja, CNN's digital producer who was in Rio shared the following with Found Remote about using Facebook Live:

From weaving in and out of traffic on the back of a motorcycle taxi, to long walks along Copacabana Beach to visiting a soup kitchen with the world-famous chef Massimo Bottura, Facebook live let our audience experience Rio in new and different ways. By interacting live with both Gabby Douglas' mom after her daughter's performance, we were able to make news and create longer form content for CNN based on our Facebook live. Our audience was able to meet the Olympic lovebirds who got engaged during the games, ask questions and engage Ibtihaj Muhammad and Olympians like Maya DiRado. For two weeks, we brought our audience to Rio using Facebook Live.

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Future of TV Rio Olympics Olympics

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