Facebook hopes to beat Twitter at its own game with Sports Stadium real-time match channel
Facebook is looking to become the home of social TV discussions with a new feature called Sports Stadium becoming its first foray into the domain.
With Twitter famed for its immediacy and already ramping up its curated content with its Moments service and Amplify’s sponsored video tweets, Facebook has a task on its hands to match the social network’s pace and sheer volume of content.
The Facebook Sports Stadium promises to collate sports posts during high profile events such as the Super Bowl in a single newsfeed. Unlike Facebook's general newsfeed, posts will be presented chronologically and as a result, in real time.
Verified users, pundits, sports stars and journalists will also have their comments added into the maelstrom to spark further discourse. Additionally, live scores, match stats and more will be released through the service.
Steve Kafka, Facebook product manager, said: "Sports is a global interest that connects people around the world. This product makes connecting over sports more fun and engaging, and we will continue listening to feedback to make it even better.
"We’re rolling this out today for American football games and will support other sports around the world like basketball, soccer, and more soon. The experience is available now on iPhone in the US, and will expand to other platforms in the coming weeks."
On the advertising front, Facebook will be able to pin down how many of its users are watching live sports, which will help it to build a useful demographic to hook up sporting brands up with.