FOX Sports used Facebook Live to stream the sight of Wrigleyville during Game 7 of the World Series, and viewers were rewarded with some emotional footage of Chicago Cubs fans reacting as their team won it all in Cleveland.
Then after the final out in a classic 8-7 win against the Cleveland Indians, as television viewers got to see mainly interviews of Cubs players on the field, those streaming on Facebook Live got to focus on the on-field celebration as actor Bill Murray got emotional and pitcher Carl Edwards Jr. ran around with a “W” banner.
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As FOX went to commercials, Facebook Live still was streaming live FOX coverage of players carrying one of the players of the game, David Ross, off the field after the last game of his career. It wasn’t until after TV commercials when Ross’ interview on a slight tape-delay was aired and then interrupted by that grand exit.
When World Series MVP Ben Zobrist and Miguel Montero delivered the go-ahead run-scoring hits in the 10th inning on television, the Cubs fans could be seen on Facebook Live shaking their beers at the camera, hugging one another and jumping up and down. During the commercial break on FOX when there was a break in the action, the fans inside the bar were seen dancing.
“WARNING: This feed is raw and unedited. Foul language could occur,” read the video post from the MLB on FOX Facebook page. But for this historic game that saw the Cubs win their first World Series in 108 years, FOX was going to document it all with a second-screen experience.
Carl Edwards Jr. waving a W banner
The live stream also provided interesting scenes during the rain delay after the ninth inning. On television, FOX’s studio analysts on site were providing analysis. On Facebook Live, the tarp could be seen being taken off the field, making it clear that the game would soon resume.
FOX had used Facebook Live during a World Series game earlier in the series when they went to Murray singing “Take Me Out To The Ball Game.”