Live sports is coming to Facebook.
Facebook’s first-ever simulcast of a live sports program will air on Thursday when NBA Digital streams “NBA Real Training Camp” featuring LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. PT on the NBA TV Facebook page.
The show will offer access to the team’s practice in addition to interviews with players, coaches, and front office personnel. The action will be available on NBA TV and NBA.com, but what’s interesting is NBA Digital using Facebook to stream the same content online for free.
“Our goal is always to provide the most compelling content for our fans any way they choose to consume it and this initiative will expand the visibility of this quality daytime programming,” Albert Vertino, general manager of NBA Digital, said in a statement.
Facebook did something similar in 2011 when it partnered with MLB to stream spring training games as a way for the league to advertise its full-season streaming subscription package.
Facebook also last month rolled out a tool called Live for Facebook Mentions, a new feature available for athletes, musicians, politicians and other influencers to share live video with fans on Facebook. The company told TechCrunch that live-streaming would be “an awesome experience” for normal users, but did not say when and if the feature would be released to the masses
Speaking of live streaming and sports, Fancred, a social media platform focused on sports, last week debuted a way for fans to live stream their own reactions during games.
