DUBAI: From concerts and movies to sports and picnics, people lost touch with live events as pandemic-imposed restrictions brought the world to a standstill. When the players finally entered the field this year, fans turned to their screens to watch and discuss the action.
In many ways, the Olympics and Euros were digital events as much as live events. Social media posts by Olympics’ accounts generated 3.7 billion engagements, with a combined 75 million followers across the Olympics’ social media channels.
“This will be a Euro like no other, and UEFA’s digital channels will be at the heart of it,” UEFA said in a statement.
And digital was indeed at the heart of both the Olympics and Euros.
“Facebook is the largest community of sports fans anywhere in the world,” Jerry Newman, director of EMEA sports partnerships at Facebook, told Arab News.
More than 700 million people are connected to a sports page on Facebook, more than 400 million people follow a football page on Facebook and more than 400 million people follow a sports account on Instagram, according to data from the company.
Arab News spoke to Newman to learn more about sports on the platform.
How do fans engage with sports on Facebook and Instagram?
“Throughout the summer, fans have come together on Facebook and Instagram to talk about and connect with the Euros, Olympics and Paralympics following their postponement from 2021.
As COVID-19 limited the number of people who could be in stadiums this summer, Facebook and Instagram helped the global fan community to virtually share their passion for sport.
People come to express their fandom through augmented reality (AR) filters and stickers or experience new sports through virtual reality (VR) on our platforms. Fans connect with other fans through Facebook groups to talk about last night’s game or that marathon final.
Through Instagram, fans enjoy all the latest sport reels from their favorite creators and catch the latest highlight clips from local broadcasters.”
How has Facebook responded to audiences’ interest in sports? Did you launch any special features?
“This summer, Facebook rolled out features across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp to help people discover content and cheer on their teams at the Olympic Games.
On Facebook, there was a hub of information available, including highlights from official Olympic broadcast partners, team and athlete overviews, explainers of competitions new to the Games, Olympic history, as well as posts from friends and more. Fans could visit the hub by clicking on the #Olympics or #Tokyo2020 hashtags.
Through AR effects on Instagram, fans could get a unique experience in both stories and reels. In one AR effect, fans attempted to mirror the movements of Miraitowa, the official Olympics mascot, and earn AR medals for their performances. Another effect, available via the @Tokyo2020 Instagram account, featured the official beat music of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Leveraging the WhatsApp Business API, WhatsApp rolled out a chatbot that shared the Olympic schedule, tune-in information for local broadcasts of the Games around the world, and the latest news and medal standings.”
Can you share any examples of brands or media outlets that used the platforms for sports-related content?
“beIN Sports is our biggest partner and one of the best-performing publishers of Olympic content in the region. We worked with them to air three live Women’s UEFA Champions League games to Facebook in the MENA and the US. The games were exclusive to Facebook and their streaming service, beIN SPORTS XTRA. In addition to getting full women’s live games on Facebook, we also helped beIN adapt to Facebook products such as Instagram reels, Facebook video promotion and scheduled live events to drive tune-in for the games.
Results: Across the three streams on Facebook there were 2.2 million 3-second views and 198,000 one-minute views, with the average (viewer) being 30 years old.
In addition, 30 percent of the one-minute viewers did not follow the beIN sports or PSG Facebook pages and tuned in as a result of content being surfaced in news feed, showcasing how leveraging live games can convert fans.”
Can you share data on how the Euros and Olympics unfolded on Facebook’s platforms?
“Since the start of the UEFA Euros tournament, more than 150 million people had more than 800 million interactions with Euros-related content. The final England v Italy game was the most-talked-about match, with more than 400,000 posts. England was the most-discussed team throughout the tournament and at the final, sparking more than 900,000 posts. The most talked-about player was Cristiano Ronaldo, with more than 1.5 million posts, and the most-talked-about goalie was Gianluigi Donnarumma, with more than 170,000 posts.”
The top 5 captains were:
Cristiano Ronaldo
Harry Kane
Giorgio Chiellini
Marcus Berg
Manuel Neuer
Loudest countries
US
India
Mexico
Philippines
Brazil
Most-mentioned sports
Athletics
Boxing
Wrestling
Football
Gymnastics
Most-mentioned athletes
Simone Biles
Nesthy Petecio
Lovlina Borgohain
Gianmarco Tamberi
Greysia Polii
