Facebook Inc (FB) isn’t a pure social media company anymore. It has branched off into fields like virtual reality, restaurant ratings, personal assistants, money transfers, and video … and now it’s trying to do sports.
Sports, currently, is dominated by Disney’s (DIS) ESPN, whose trademark saying is: “The Worldwide Leader in Sports.” Unlike many trademark sayings, ESPN’s is true.
The network has multi-year broadcast deals with all the major sports leagues, which means other aspiring sports networks get stuck with amateur chess championships instead of the college football playoffs.
To be clear, FB isn’t getting into sports broadcasting just yet. But it is doubling down on the conversations surrounding sports, which has become an integral part of how we consume sports in this day and age. It’s also something ESPN can’t do, and it could woo some major ad dollars Facebook’s way if it proves popular.
Frankly speaking, I don’t see how it couldn’t be a hit. Depending on its success, it could take FB to a new level of profitability.
Facebook Sports Stadium
Dubbed “Facebook Sports Stadium”, the new feature will have its own real estate on Facebook’s mobile app. It will consist of four separate tabs: One devoted to live sports commentary from your friends, another populated with commentary from experts like commentators and players, the third will have play-by-play game details, and the fourth will include live game stats.
Two of those FB tabs will compete head-on with espn.com, which already provides play-by-play details and live game stats. And the other two — the social aspects — will surely foster high amounts of user engagement, which advertisers love.
It’s another move FB is making to combat its biggest competitor, Twitter (TWTR). Sports events are one of the few things Twitter does better than Facebook currently. Users can and do take to Twitter during big games to talk trash, vent, rant and see what others are talking about. Now it’s Facebook’s turn.
Facebook product manager Steve Kafka talked to Recode about how he envisions Facebook Sports Stadium being used:
“We think it can really enhance awareness. Maybe you weren’t paying attention and then you see your friends are having this discussion, and that can pull you into the game.”
So, for now, the new feature will serve as a complement to traditional sports broadcasters like ESPN. FB will prominently display where users can view the game on TV. But I wouldn’t put it past Facebook to look into broadcast deals in the future, especially if the feature ends up being a huge success, keeping users on the site for longer and attracting more advertisers.
At the end of the day, it’s just another innovative way for Facebook to improve the monetization of its platform — and that’s always a good thing for investors.
As of this writing, John Divine did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. You can follow him on Twitter at @divinebizkid or email him at editor@investorplace.com.
