Fans enjoy the pre match atmosphere prior to the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia match between Brazil and Switzerland on June 17, 2018. SpokeHub is hoping to use the tournament to bring fans with a common interest to its platform. (Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images)
Soccer fans like to brag when their national team wins a big match. Many will be turning to Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and SnapChat during the World Cup to do just that. But startup SpokeHub is hoping that a new content partnership will spur fans to have those conversations on its social platform instead.
On Monday, the social media company announced a deal with STATS LLC that will bring the sports research firm’s Insights to SpokeHub, giving World Cup fans real-time information on player and team trends that can inform their conversations.
Fans using SpokeHub will see the STATS inside the “Hubs”—the platform’s online special interest communities—they are part of, according to the announcement. They will also see news and scoreboard updates and can chat in augmented reality with other fans.
“With the World Cup being the largest sporting event in the world, SpokeHub is excited to partner with STATS to allow fans globally to connect and engage utilizing our chat technology,” said Robert Hartsfield, SpokeHub’s CEO, in a statement.
SportTechie Takeaway
STATS is also being used to augment broadcast and digital World Cup coverage around the world this summer, with its data feeds supplying real-time, in-game information to media providers. The Insights have also been used by the English Premier League and France’s Ligue 1. By fueling sports coverage with data that is updated instantaneously, STATS keys into the patterns and trends happening on the field, giving fans more to talk about in an informed way, and providing media the ability to enhance their own coverage.
