We created #TheDebut, the first interactive sports broadcast experience designed for a digitally native audience. We found the top high school teams and players you couldn’t see anywhere else and broadcast eight games live on Gatorade’s Twitter handle. #TheDebut gave the reigns to the fans watching at home, letting them lead a live conversation.

Each broadcast became a unique experience, merging the best of social into the game itself. Live tweets led the on-air game conversation, from the game MVP to what was shown on the hand-held host cameras. The conversation online became the broadcast’s dialogue so, for the first time ever, fans did more than just watch the game — they became part of it.

Gatorade also responded in real-time on Twitter creating highlights as they happened, tweeting custom emojis in reaction to big plays, and building Twitter Moments that recapped the best content from each night’s game.

#TheDebut kicked off in January 2018, with Gatorade and Twitter coming together to internationally broadcast eight elite high school basketball games live. Broadcasts featured top teams and highly ranked players from all over the country, and the program was supported by targeted digital content — fans received game time Twitter reminders prior to tipoff. Gatorade also engaged in real time with fans on Twitter, responding to live questions, comments and game reactions.

Users could watch the game and view the conversation simultaneously on their mobile phones for a seamless experience. The games featured unique camera angles rarely seen on TV broadcasts, host commentary was directed by fan tweets, and live player polls were selected by fans on Twitter. The real-time nature of the broadcast and conversation became the foundation for #TheDebut, making it a live social experience unlike any other.

• Each game averaged 4.1 million live viewers

• 179 million impressions

• 36.2 million media views

• #TheDebut outperformed live Twitter benchmarks by over 2x, averaging 1 million unique live viewers and 1.7 million unique replay viewers

• Users spent an average of 20 minutes watching on the Twitter live event page

• During #TheDebut’s two-month schedule, Gatorade’s Twitter followers increased 25x the average follower growth rate