The 2016 Olympics marks a major shift in the way the world consumes live sports coverage. The world-wide competitive event has allowed the social networks Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat to realize their full potential as live feed sports providers.
The International Olympics Committee (IOC) has partnered with several social networks. For example, there is now a special IOC bot on Facebook Messenger which can inform users of all Olympics-related news. Snapchat has scored a deal with NBC to present live stories from individual events.
Facebook has taken partnerships a step further by offering athletes money to use its latest major feature, Facebook Live, to promote their events. In the past, Facebook has used similar tactics with businesses and newspapers to promote Live. Now, however, the social network hopes to reach more people by taking advantage of big name athletes like Michael Phelps using the service.
In addition to official partnerships with the IOC, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have all taken their own initiative to make their social environments more Olympic-oriented. Facebook has rolled out a specific Olympic filter. Twitter has introduced Olympics-themed Moments. Both Instagram and Facebook have several feeds devoted to the Olympics.
All of these social networks have made a foray into sports broadcasting before, whether it be through the NFL, MLB, or NHL. The Olympics offers all of them the chance to take live sports coverage to the next level and redefine the way the world watches live events.