Dive Brief:
- Facebook has partnered with NBC to publish highlights and recaps from the upcoming Olympic games on Facebook and Instagram, according to Mashable.
- The deal does not include rights to live stream any of the competitions.
- NBC will make use of Facebook Live to stream interviews with athletes and commentators.
Dive Insight:
Facebook’s Olympics deal won't involve live streaming any events, but it represents another win for the social media giant as it looks to bolster its live video offerings. The deal is somewhat similar to Twitter’s partnership with the NBA, in which the microblogging platform won’t be live streaming games, but will get original content in the form of two shows. Like Facebook, Twitter is betting big on live streaming video and has been striking deals left and right to populate the platform with original content similar to live TV.
Once a staple of linear TV, professional sports events, a "destination" type of viewing content, are now looking beyond the TV to other screens as consumers become increasingly digital in their viewing habits. However, it appears that most consumers—even digital ones—will watch the games on TV.
A recent poll of 1,105 U.S. internet users who identified themselves as sports fans and Olympics followers found that about 84% of Summer Olympics viewers will watch live on TV. 44% said they would watch on their computers, while 36% said they would watch on mobile. But the numbers show that second-screening—watching events on TV and another device, for example—is a growing trend to watch at this year's Olympics, with consumers using more and more devices to connect with events they want to follow.
The study's results bode well for brands looking to reach followers of the Olympics. Even if they can't buy TV time for an ad spot, marketers can leverage viewers' second-screen habits to reach them on other platforms, such as news sites and social networks. Brands should beware, however: Brands that are not official sponsors of the Olympic Games are prohibited from posting Olympics-related content on social media through August 24, according to the U.S. Olympic Committee.
