Fox announced Tuesday it will partner with social media giants Twitter and Snapchat during this summer’s World Cup in Russia to disperse highlights and produce original content.
According to Fox, the relationships will result in a variety of content:
- Twitter will receive highlights from the tournament, including video of every goal scored and clips from interviews and press conferences.
- Fox will produce a 30-minute live show to be streamed on Twitter each day during the World Cup. It will be filmed at Red Square in Moscow and hosted by Rachel Bonnetta, with various Fox analysts and personalities stopping by as guests.
- Fox will also produce a Publisher Story on Snapchat, which will include highlights and analysis, as well as features produced specifically for the platform.
- Snapchat will produce Our Stories featuring game highlights and photos submitted by fans around the world.
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These sorts of partnerships have become more and more common as leagues and networks seek to reach young audiences who get their news and entertainment through social media — and especially Snapchat. The NFL has a running relationship with Snapchat, ESPN recently launched a Snapchat version of SportsCenter, and NBC partnered with the platform for the 2016 Olympics, with plans to do so again at next month’s Winter Games. Twitter, of course, has a hand in all sorts of sports content, from streaming of various events to the NBA’s new direct-message bot that offers scores and highlights.
With fans (particularly young fans) glued to their phones all day, the question for networks planning coverage of big events is not whether to partner with social media companies but how to partner with social media companies.
