It’s a trial to be transformed for a losing tech heavyweight. “This is the first time that Meta has joined as a partner in a sporting event of such magnitude”, underlines Laurent Solly, vice-president for Southern Europe of this company, in particular owner of Instagram. Failing to broadcast the Rugby World Cup live on its networks, which begins in France this Friday, September 8, Mark Zuckerberg’s group will take advantage of the video stream generated by partners such as TF1, one of the official broadcasters with M 6, and the leading sports media, l’Équipe.
Signed two years ago with the organizing committee, France 2023, the agreement gave it the title of “Official social network supplier”. The partnerships negotiated with the leaders of the front page and the Amaury group have reinforced this role, surprising at first sight that of “supplier”, as one can be for jerseys or an oval ball.
The competitor TikTok had already explored the seam well by backing his name to the VI Nations Tournament, but Meta goes even further in technical collaboration. In practice, the firm will make available to rights holders and followers of the competition its technological know-how of social networks, in particular the recommendation algorithms, in order to help them enhance their content. But also its monthly audiences of nearly 50 million users on all its platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Messenger or WhatsApp.
While relying on an implacable observation: “Rugby players and teams have become content creators who will multiply and bring the event to life from the inside thanks to social networks”, points out Jacques Rivoal, president of the France 2023 Rugby World Cup.
Social networks as a news relay
The TF1 group holds all the rights to use the images on digital media and relies on the essential social networks to make its investment profitable beyond simple airtime and advertising breaks.
According to an Odoxa poll carried out for Meta, the 48% of French people who intend to exchange on social platforms around the competition will do so by a large majority (79%) after the matches. Mainly to comment on the result of the match, certainly with supporting images. “We give great material to share and this is an integral part of our system, the question of broadcasting on social networks arises less than before”, explains François Pellissier, Deputy General Manager Business and Sports of the TF1 group.
The channel will also broadcast, from the start of the competition and before the match, a special program called “Fan Zone” exclusively on Facebook as well as on Instagram via the Instagram Broadcast Channel, a channel where subscribers comment live. “The action of the day” of a match will be the subject of a Reel, the short videos of “Insta”. L’Équipe has planned, for its part, a program on Monday and Thursday afternoons on the same broadcasting channels in parallel with its official site. The best moments of the matches will also be highlighted in short video formats with potential virality.
A mobilized monitoring unit
Promoting the competition is also part of the mission sheet of the “official supplier”. Meta has recruited 30 “influencer-ambassadors” to fuel its platforms, including French designers Valouzz (1.7 million Instagram subscribers), DobbyElfe (788,000 Instagram subscribers) and Camisandra_off (296,000 Instagram subscribers). ). They will, for example, be responsible for interacting with the “SuperFans”, virtual mascots representing each of the twenty nations involved in the tournament.
In the form of augmented reality filters (à la Snapchat) or stickers, users will be invited to share their feelings online. In compliance with the rules of virtual life: Meta teams, particularly specialized in moderation, will be dedicated to the event in order to avoid racist or homophobic slippages, which proliferate during major international competitions. The various teams also received visits from trainers to remind them of the tools available to them to report out-of-game content.
