Facebook has launched a new program that will allow fans to interact with one another in a more meaningful way via social media during live events.
The live event tool, dubbed “Venue,” was released by Facebook’s R&D group NPE Team. “Venue” will serve as a second screen experience for people, providing interactive questions, polls, and short chats during specific moments of a live event. According to Facebook research, 94% of people keep their smartphone on hand while watching live TV, prompting the need for a social interaction platform. Facebook noted that live broadcasts are still a “mostly solo viewing experience” and fans are always looking for other ways to connect.
As a part of Facebook’s partnership with NASCAR, racing fans were first to experience Venue live in action.
“Venue is designed so that fans can split their attention between the race and their phones better than they can today,” Facebook said in a statement. “Venue does this by allowing commentators to create ‘Moments’ — short-lived digital opportunities for fans to connect – whenever they think something memorable or interesting is happening on the track. Fans are notified whenever a new Moment is created so that they can hop in and out of Venue if they want to.”
NASCAR’s Senior Vice President and Chief Digital Officer Tim Clark shared that he’s excited for race fans across the globe to interact with other fans across the globe.
“NASCAR was built on innovation, and we couldn’t be more excited to help a great partner like Facebook’s New Product Experimentation team innovate around new platforms,” Clark said.
This is Facebook’s latest program that has been announced amid the coronavirus pandemic. Previously, the social media giant released the music-making app Collab and the group voice-calling app CatchUp. Additionally, they’ve announced paid livestream options for creators who want to monetize their performances while live events are halted.
View Facebook’s venue app via iOS and Android.
