The social networking platform Threads is set to introduce live sports scores, starting with NBA basketball. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced this initiative, noting that more leagues will be added soon.
Here’s the process: During a game, users can search for the teams and view the current score. Once the game concludes, searching will display the final score. Additionally, users can find out the start time of a game by searching for it beforehand. This mirrors the approach taken by X, which began displaying live sports scores in 2017 when it was still known as Twitter
Each live score on Threads is accompanied by the logos of the two teams involved. Clicking on these logos directs users to discussions about each respective team. Recently, both Threads and Instagram decided to cease recommending political content, shifting their focus to sports to capture a more current and trendy atmosphere on the social network.
Instagram’s head, Adam Mosseri, has been actively engaging with NBA enthusiasts for several months, acknowledging the vibrant basketball community on Threads as an example of the app’s desired direction. A spokesperson for Threads stated that basketball has emerged as one of the most popular topics on the platform, with NBA Threads becoming one of its most active sports communities.
This strategy aligns with the significant presence of NBA discussions on X, known as NBA Twitter in sports media circles, which regularly drives coverage and conversation about the professional basketball league. It appears that Meta aims to attract some of that influence to its platforms. Apple also recently unveiled its own sports-related initiative with the first-party Sports iPhone app, offering real-time statistics for major leagues, including the NBA, and displaying live score data on the lock screen during games.
Threads has been quite active this week, introducing a new feature for tuning algorithms by swiping left and right on posts, as well as announcing a beta test allowing users to share content with Mastodon and other fediverse services. The live scores feature is currently in its testing phase.
