Facebook Launches Facebook Sports Stadium And Wants You To Forget Other Game Hubs

Facebook has launched a new a dedicated sports hub called the Facebook Sports Stadium, allowing users to experience a number of sports in real time.

People use Facebook to talk about games, celebrate and commiserate with friends. Now Facebook has made a sports-dedicated place to let users feel as though they're watching a sports event with their friends even when they are not together. Facebook Sports pulls together all the game-related content on Facebook is in one place and the content appears chronologically and in real time.

Users will be able to see posts from friends along with the comments they make. Users will also see commentary and posts from journalists, leagues, teams and experts.

Users will be able to get live play-by-play, stats and scores.

"You can follow the action as the game unfolds with a live play-by-play, and even like, comment on, and share individual plays. You can also get up to speed quickly with live scores and the most discussed plays. It's a second-screen experience that we hope makes watching the broadcast even better," says Kafka.

Facebook is licensing game data from a company called Sportradar and is not partnering with major networks. While Facebook Sports Stadium brings a number of features to keep sports fans engaged, the only thing that it will not have is the game itself.

"It provides information about the game, but it also provides you that vital conversation and interaction around the game which we think is really critical to consuming live sports," says Dan Reed, the head of global sports partnerships at Facebook.

Kafka believes that Facebook Sports Stadium can benefit publishers and broadcasters.

"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," says Kafka.

The latest Facebook Sports Stadium may also attract more journalists who use other platforms such as Twitter to share their thoughts about a game.

Reed says that Facebook's new feature is a compliment to TV experience. Sport fans can watch the game on a TV but also get game insights from friends and experts via Facebook Sports Stadium.

Initially rolled out for American football games, the feature will be available to other sports such as soccer, basketball and more in the near term. Facebook Sports Stadium is currently available only on iPhone in the U.S. but Facebook plans to expand it to other platforms soon.

Check out a short video about Facebook Sports Stadium.