Facebook And The NFL: Like, Love Or Ha-Ha?
Reports are out that Facebook is one of the companies in talks with the NFL to host the live online broadcast of selected games. This makes a world of sense for both Facebook and the NFL, and ultimately for fans too.With a global audience of over 1.5 billion users, Facebook can provide the NFL with an instant audience for its games. This will be of benefit in the U.S., where barriers to entry (e.g. signing up) will be low as the majority of potential viewers are already Facebook members, and overseas, where viewers who are curious about American football will be able to check out the game and become part of the experience. Like all American sports leagues, the NFL is looking to expand its presence overseas so as to sell lucrative branded merchandise into new markets.Apple and Goole are allegedly Facebook’s competition for these streaming NFL rights, and neither makes as much sense as Facebook. Apple makes beautiful interfaces but suffers from the effects of a closed ecosystem and lack of any sort of social network that would add to the experience. Google has YouTube and thus an excellent delivery mechanism, but they have proven less than stellar at interface design and overall ease of use of the experience. And try as they might, GooglePlus is not a social network.Which leaves Facebook, whose familiar interface is workable, particularly for video, but not going to win any design or interface awards.On the other hand, it doesn’t have to.The Big Data PlayWhat Facebook has to offer is data. Lots and lots of data. Data on the people viewing the game, who they are, who their friends are and what else they like on Facebook and on Instagram.That data is valuable to the NFL as it can help the league get a better idea of their fan base and then use that data to sell advertising and to improve the efficacy of their merchandising.It’s valuable to TV networks who carry the NFL, as they can use it to sell more targeted advertising to brands. They can also use the data to help drive tune-in by targeting viewers who might be watching the game.Finally, that data is valuable to Facebook, for its own advertising purposes. Not only can it work with the NFL to target fans with specific ads, it can also use the data it collects about football fans in order to create customized targets for related advertisers, everyone from chips and soda manufacturers to college football teams.The NFL can also help to make Facebook more of a destination for Millennials and Gen Z, most of whom maintain a presence on the platform while spending the bulk of their time elsewhere. Creating a sports-oriented section (the NFL games dovetail nicely with Facebook’s new Sports Stadium feature) can make Facebook a destination for younger fans who will use the time they are on the site to update profiles, like friends’ photos and participate in other activities that help reinvigorate their relationship to Facebook.Facebook LiveFor us thoughf, the most exciting thing about Facebook’s potential deal with the NFL is the potential for Facebook Live, their new live streaming platform. By using Live during games to go behind the scenes with athletes, Facebook can help create a stronger bond between fans and players, while recreating the level of intimacy that younger viewers have come to expect from the alternative and extreme sports stars they follow.Live creates an additional revenue stream for Facebook and the NFL (sponsorships, banners) while creating a deeper bond with fans. What’s more, it gives viewers a reason to watch the game on Facebook, or at least to keep Facebook open during the game, for the chance to view the live streamed updates. (Alerts should pop up letting viewers know exactly when those live streams are starting.)The NFL on Facebook seems like a winning proposition for everyone involved and we’re hoping that the NFL sees it that way too. Stay tuned.
