After scoring a deal with the NFL to livestream Thursday Night Football for the 2016-2017 season, Twitter promised investors that it would use the deal as a starting point to expand its live video options. With the recent announcement that it will start livestreaming NHL and MLB games, it seems Twitter is doing just that.
In addition to these two new deals, Twitter has also annnounced that it is launching a sports highlight show called The Rally in partnership with 120 Sports. This show, along with NHL content, will only be available in the US, while MLB content will be available worldwide. Internet users will be able to watch livestreamed content from Twitter whether they are logged in to their accounts or not.
Twitter’s partnership with the MLB and the NHL show its determinination to change the way people think about the often-struggling social network. Rather than simply being a micro-blogging site, Twitter has taken upon itself to replace live television. This extends beyond sports, as Twitter users were able to watch livestreamed speeches at the RNC last week by searching #RNCinCLE.
Livestream content puts Twitter in a position to compete for slots in advertisers’ video ad budgets, which could give the company much-needed growth. It remains to be seen if Twitter can recapture the public’s confidence, but as it shifts its place in the social media world, things are looking up.