Olympians Reaching More Fans Through Facebook Live

(ATR) Facebook Live is impacting the way sport fans consume sports and interact with their favorite athletes and teams.

If you are a fan of Michael Phelps, you now have an opportunity to interact directly with the greatest swimmer of all time. Phelps, the 23-time Olympic medalist – of which 19 are gold – is competing at his fifth Olympics and has started to embrace Facebook’s live video streaming function since April. He has been interacting with his Facebook followers nearly every week in this way, sharing behind-the-scenes stories and answering fans’ questions.

However, Phelps is not alone in his engagement with Facebook Live. A report by the Wall Street Journal stated that in order to promote its live stream function, Facebook has contracted more than 140 media companies and celebrities to create videos on its live-streaming service. Phelps, arguably the greatest Olympian in history, is just one of the names on the list.

The report also claims that the Olympic swimmer has received $224,000 in an exclusive deal with Facebook Live. Indeed, Phelps was not the only Olympic athlete contracted by Facebook, with U.S. soccer star Alex Morgan, who has more than 2.8 million likes on her Facebook page, receiving $115,000 from her partnership with the social media giant. Morgan streamed the home opener of her club, the Orlando Pride, which saw 554,000 viewers watching the game online.

Facebook launched its ‘live’ function within its Mentions app last August. Initially, the service only allowed verified celebrities to post live stream videos, but it has since expanded to verified journalists, experts and influencers. The live broadcast not only helps public figures build their audience, but also facilitates direct conversations between athletes and fans. Unlike similar livestreaming platforms like Meerkat and Periscope, Facebook Live videos do not disappear after a certain period of time. Users can choose to watch it on demand as long as it is posted on a public page. Many top athletes are very keen on using this service.

Live stream services also allow sport leagues and organizations to deliver content, which is not normally covered by TV, direct to their users. The Australian Diving Association, for instance, live-streamed the 2016 Olympic Trials on their Facebook page, helping to promote the sport in the country. USA Basketball also recently worked with Facebook to livestream nine exhibition games featuring the US men’s and women’s national teams before the Rio Olympic Games.

An increased number of Olympians, National Olympic Committees and National Federations have started to acknowledge the convenience of Facebook Live, realizing that an increasing number of Olympians will utilize this platform to provide more content to their fans during the Olympics.

But can we watch the actual Olympics themselves on these social media livestream platforms this year? Based on the IOC’s social media regulations for the 2016 Rio Games, which were issued in October 2015, it seems unlikely to happen. The regulations state that all accredited individuals, including athletes, are prohibited from posting or streaming any activities including the events and competitions on any social media platforms, unless it has been approved by the IOC. In other words, if fans want to watch other Olympic competitions that are not live or being covered by their domestic TV rights holder, it will be hard for them to find an alternative source to satisfy their demand.

However, NBC, the broadcast rights holder of the Olympics, has announced that it will produce and post a two-minute recap video of each day’s events on its Facebook page during the Rio Games. The U.S.-based Olympic broadcaster will also tap Facebook live to capture interviews with athletes and commentators on-site in Rio during the Games.

One thing that cannot be denied is that livestreaming on social media is a growing trend in sport coverage. At least in Rio, fans will not only be able to watch post-game interviews from each event, but will also have plenty of opportunities to interact with their favorite athletes through Facebook Live.

Written by Norman Li

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