Facebook To Stream College Football Games This Season

CFB — College football will come to Facebook via streaming. Getty

College football is coming to Facebook. The social media network will stream 15 college football games this upcoming season, adding to its growing schedule of streaming programming for users.

Facebook’s broadcasts begin Sept. 2 with Miami University at Marshall and the University of California, Davis at San Diego State. The games will be broadcast via digital sports network Stadium, which will feature games on its Facebook page and through Facebook’s newly launched Watch tab for original video streaming.

While the games all come from smaller conferences like Conference USA and the Mountain West Conference, many feature players worth following for NFL and college football fans. Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen returns for another year with the Cowboys and many league analysts have pegged him as a potential first-round pick in the 2018 NFL draft. Wyoming will have two games against Texas State and Utah State on Facebook’s streaming catalog.

For viewers, Stadium will also add social-friendly features to the games during its broadcasts. These are slated to include broadcasters from Stadium at the games who will provide a closer view for in-game action and live chats between viewers and personalities.

College football is the latest and one of the more higher-profile additions to Facebook’s increasingly growing streaming catalog, as the social network aims to bulk up its video offerings. The previously announced Watch tab will launch later this year and feature original programming from Facebook and other media partners. In addition, Facebook will host streaming content ranging from Major League Soccer to esports matches.

The moves also come amid increasing competition for high-profile streaming content among tech companies, as services ranging from Twitter to Snapchat have all heavily invested in their own original or live streaming shows.

Sports have also been a similarly competitive space for these companies. Twitter previously had the rights to streaming Thursday Night Football games last season, but was outbid for the 2017-2018 season by Amazon, which paid around $50 million for the 10-game package.