Threads has inched a little bit further into X’s territory, with the addition of a new display of scores for in-progress sporting events, beginning with NBA games, which could help to drive more real-time engagement.

As you can see in this example, now, if you search for a sports team-related tag, you’ll be shown a new in-stream panel with real-time scores from their latest match. Tap on any team logo and it’ll also show the scores from their most recent game, or who they’ll be playing next, whichever is closer.

Which is a good addition, and with sports remaining one of the most popular topics on X, it could also be a good way for Threads to potentially lure more X users across.

Except, there’s one key error in the new set-up: The posts under the panel are not displayed by most recent.

Which continues Threads’ broader hesitation around enabling real-time discovery, due to concerns that it’ll facilitate more spam, junk and misinformation. 

Threads chief Adam Mosseri has already made it clear that he doesn’t want search results displayed in real time, while its new “Trending Topics” display is also being carefully managed to avoid amplifying questionable content.

Which is all part of Meta’s mission to make Threads a more positive version of what Twitter was, and what X now is. But that’s also going to restrict Threads’ ability to take on X in several key topic areas.

For example, in its most-recent overview, X shared that these are its most popular topics:

That’s also reflected in its most followed profiles, with sports stars and musicians attracting huge audiences in the app.

With so many people engaging with these profiles on X, it’ll be very hard for them to justify moving that activity to another platform, while many of these communities, specifically sports, still rely on X for real-time updates and discussion.

Because on X, you can see real-time results, and it remains the primary home for the latest news and discussion, partly as a result of this, and partly, as noted, because the audiences for these topics are so huge.

If Threads refuses to enable real-time discovery, and to facilitate that same engagement, I don’t see how it’s ever going to become the main focus of these groups, many of whom could care less about whatever Elon Musk says, as they’re habitually linked to the app, not the latest controversies.

So while this is a smart addition, I don’t think that Threads has got its formula right just yet. And there’s also the deliberate shift away from political discussion, which could have broad-reaching impacts, which will be another impediment to the app’s growth.

And it is worth also noting that Threads does have an opportunity to really put the pressure on Musk’s X project.

Despite X’s repeated proclamations that everything’s going well at the app, and that it’s reaching new highs in usage, the fact is that X hasn’t added any new daily active users in over a year.

Last week, X reported that it currently serves 250 million daily active users. Which is the same number that it initially reported in November 2022, shortly after Elon purchased the app. So according to X’s own reporting, it’s seen no growth in daily users for 16 months.

Threads, meanwhile, is now up to 130 million monthly users, 8 months after its initial launch.

That growth has slowed (Threads reached 100 million MAU in 3 months), but Threads does have enough of a critical mass to build real momentum, and if can hook into some of these popular X communities, it could become a viable challenger for real time updates.

But real time is the key. X wins because it’s the place to go to get the latest updates on the latest events, and it’s still the best option in this respect. Aside from Musk’s own controversial stances and statements, the bigger trends for X are where it generates the most engagement, and if there’s a breaking news story, X is still where you go for in-the-moment news.

Because it’s easier to find, there’s more engagement around such, it’s better than Threads because of Meta’s resistance to enabling in-the-moment engagement.

Will it change course on this? It remains to be seen, but I do think that this is crucial to Threads becoming a more significant consideration.