Meta’s Threads platform is experiencing a notable uptick in sports-related discussions. According to Meta, sports content creators on Threads have collectively gained nearly one million followers in just the past two months, making it the fastest-growing category of influential accounts on the app. This development is particularly significant because live sports updates and commentary have traditionally been dominated by X.
Though Threads still lags behind X in terms of daily usage – Threads reportedly has 320 million monthly active users compared to X’s 600 million – Meta’s focus on live sports engagement may help close the gap. If Threads continues to attract sports audiences, it could slowly chip away at X’s dominance in this arena, especially if major figures in the sports world are fully changing platforms. Creators who migrate to a new platform tend to bring their audience with them, and this is no less true for sports figures.
While X is currently still at the top of the pile, Threads may now be gaining ground. Meta’s recent partnership with UFC could play a pivotal role in this shift – Meta is now an official technology partner of the combat sports organization, and While Facebook and Instagram will host exclusive UFC content, Threads is being positioned front and center. UFC events will now include visible Threads branding inside the octagon, and a promotional campaign is underway in which announcer Bruce Buffer interacts with fans on the app ahead of UFC 314.
