Broadcasters unveil social media initiatives for World Cup

CNN International and Eurosport have announced social media initiatives in the run-up to and during the forthcoming World Cup in Brazil.

CNN International has announced plans to deliver coverage of the tournament across TV, online and mobile platforms, and has announced plans for a joint initiative with Facebook.

CNN has teamed up with Facebook in a joint initiative, the CNN Facebook Pulse. This is described as a digital dashboard on the CNN.com site to present debate from around the world on the tournament.

The Facebook Pulse will display the evolving “World Cup conversation” in real time through Facebook posts, pictures and Instagram photos, allowing fans to track trending topics, players and teams.  Users will be able to explore trends and gauge reactions to developing stories in different parts of the world through “sentiment data”.  Fans can join the conversation by updating their Facebook status and sharing their thoughts.

CNN International will have a dedicated World Cup live studio set-up in Rio de Janeiro, alongside its permanent bureau in São Paolo.

“When it comes to sporting events there is simply nothing bigger than the World Cup, and that is down to both its worldwide reach and the intense engagement of the fans,” said Nick Wrenn, vice-president, digital at CNN International.

“We want to give those fans a platform to join together and get as deeply involved as possible in the global buzz around the games, the players and the unique sense of occasion that this tournament brings.  The partnership with Facebook is a really exciting way for us to deliver that platform, and will deliver some fascinating insights into what the football community is thinking and discussing.”

Eurosport meanwhile has unveiled plans to offer extensive online coverage incorporating social media.

The sports broadcaster will run a ‘live hub’ in different languages on Eurosport.com, featuring live written commentaries from all 64 matches, interviews, videos, articles from Eurosport’s editorial teams and all the latest news, curated from platforms including Twitter, Instagram and various other websites.