Facebook adds more Olympics coverage with live broadcasts, Instagram feeds
Facebook is expanding its coverage of the Olympics. More video highlights, live programming and interactive features are coming to your News Feed and Instagram.
The social networking giant has partnered with more than 20 official broadcasters and National Olympic Committees to host more content on Facebook and Instagram. That includes broadcasters from local networks and athletes from more than 10 countries participating in the Games.
These broadcasters will provide live programming on their Facebook Pages with Facebook Live, video highlights and 360-degree videos from the ground in Rio. The live videos will feature athletes and other participants of the Games who can converse in real time with Facebook users.
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Instagram will host several channels dedicated to the Olympics within the Search and Explore section of the app. The curated feeds will feature videos from athletes and other attendees in Rio.
The International Olympics Committee (IOC) is also launching a bot on Facebook Messenger, which the network's 1.71 billion users can chat with for live updates and other highlights.
It's a landmark deal in that it's the first official collaboration for the IOC and a social media company. Snapchat's deal to create Live Stories for the Olympics was inked with NBC -- the official broadcasting partner -- and is limited to the U.S.
"We’re excited to be working with the IOC, Rio 2016 Organizing Committee, official broadcasters and the broader Olympic Movement to deliver exciting highlights, exclusive live video around Rio and behind the scenes content from Rio to our global communities on Facebook and Instagram," Dan Reed, Facebook's head of global sports partnerships, said in a statement.
"By giving people the ability to engage and share their passion for the Games and their favorite teams, we will help connect our global communities with the Olympic Games — and each other," he continued.
Facebook's deal with the IOC expands beyond its current partnership with NBC Olympics and other on-the-ground activations in Rio. NBC is publishing exclusive highlights and recap videos on Facebook and Instagram and tapping Facebook Live throughout the Games.
Last month, The Wall Street Journal reported that Facebook was paying some athletes -- including Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps -- to use the Facebook Live platform. This is similar to Facebook Live partnerships Facebook has with other media brands (Mashable is one of those brands). It's unclear if those partnerships with athletes -- including Phelps -- extend to the Games. Phelps has already used Facebook Live while in Rio.
So far, 52 million people have interacted with content on Facebook related to the Opening Ceremonies. For Instagram, 21 million people have seen, responded to or posted about the Olympics on the app.
Kerry Flynn is a business reporter for Mashable covering the tech industry. She previously reported on social media companies, mobile apps and startups for International Business Times. She has also written for The Huffington Post, Forbes and Money magazine. Kerry studied environmental science and economics at Harvard College, where she led The Harvard Crimson's metro news and design teams and played mellophone in the Band. When not listening to startup pitches, she runs half-marathons, plays with puppies and pretends to like craft beer.
