Twitter has outbid Verizon, Amazon, and Yahoo, for the streaming rights to Thursday Night Football, according to a report from Bloomberg. Facebook was also in the mix but dropped out of the race.
Back in February, the NFL announced that NBC and CBS had gained the TV rights to the Thursday night games, but a separate opportunity would be available to secure the league’s global streaming rights.
Only the 10 Thursday night games on CBS and NBC will be streamed through Twitter under a one-year agreement. They will be free worldwide on all devices through the Twitter platform. Viewers will not need to be registered Twitter users.
Twitter reportedly spent less than $10 million for the 10-game package. The social media company will control some of the advertising inventory during the games.
Another key part of the deal includes an ability for Twitter to host in-game highlights from the Thursday night games as well as pre-game video broadcasts through Twitter’s live streaming app Periscope.
“Twitter is where live events unfold and is the right partner for the NFL as we take the latest step in serving fans around the world live NFL football,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in a statement.
The acquisition of the NFL’s streaming rights could prove to be a difference maker as the social media giant looks to position itself as the go-to place for live events – slotting in nicely with its curated Moments service and video platform, Periscope.
Jason Barrett is the Founder and CEO of Barrett Media. The company launched in September 2015 and has provided consulting services to America’s top audio and video brands, while simultaneously covering the media industry at BarrettMedia.com, becoming a daily destination for media professionals. Prior to Barrett Media, Jason built and programmed 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He was also the first sports programmer for SportsTalk 950 in Philadelphia, which later became 97.5 The Fanatic. Barrett also led 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis, and ESPN 1340/1390 in Poughkeepsie, NY, and worked on-air and behind the scenes at 101.5 WPDH, WTBQ 1110AM, and WPYX 106.5. He also spent two years at ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT producing ‘The Dan Patrick Show’ and ‘GameNight’. JB can be reached on Twitter @SportsRadioPD or by email at Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
