Facebook is launching its first official sports product around this weekend’s NFC and AFC Championship games. Dubbed the Facebook Sports Stadium, the site allows Facebook users to follow games through posts, stats and videos centered on specific games. “We want to make this a rich, second-screen experience and really bring to light something that already exists on Facebook,” said Facebook Head of Global Sports Partnerships Dan Reed. “We want Facebook to be the place for people to stay connected to what’s happening in the sports world.” The Facebook Sports Stadium will feature four tabs that users can navigate. One collects friends posts about the games; one aggregates the Facebook posts and videos posted by the teams, league or media; one provides real-time updates; and one provides up-to-the-minute statistics. Facebook execs said they did not sign deals with any of the leagues to launch the site, which Facebook users can find through a simple search for the game. “The content we’re showing is content that the rights holders are putting out on Facebook already,” said Facebook Stadium Product Manager Steve Kafka. “We’re not pulling in anything outside of Facebook. We’re just putting it in one place for people to see.” The feature starts this weekend, but Facebook execs expect to roll it out for all sports. “Because this is a multi-sport product, there aren’t specific partnership around it,” Reed said. “This product is designed to enhance all of our sports relationships. We happen to be launching around the football games, but this product will cover all sports globally. A major part of our strategy is to help leagues and teams and broadcasters understand how to tap into this large community of sports fans.”
