Twitter has made it clear they want to expand their live video offerings, and they showed just how dedicated they are to doing that this morning, announcing live streaming deals with 14 partners, including huge names like MLB, NFL, Live Nation, PGA, Bloomberg, WNBA, Viacom, Ben Silverman’s Propagate, and IMG Fashion.
The deals will add hundreds of hours of exclusive live content to the Twitter platform, and will cover things like concerts, sports, news, and general entertainment. And with the number of live shows planned for each week, the lineup is starting to rival standard television.
Company executives announced the news at the company’s inaugural Digital Content NewFronts presentation in New York. And it seems like Twitter may have been a little too excited, because they let it slip that they’re planning to launch a 24 hour news channel with Bloomberg. On that front, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey noted “We want to be the first place that anyone hears of anything going on that matters to them.”
The social media site touted the importance of live video, and talked about its ability to generate real time conversation with audiences in one place at one time, fostering a sense of community. Twitter streamed over 800 hours of live video from partners in the first quarter of 2017, a number that is set to rise with these new arrangements.
Thursday Night Football has been the site’s biggest live streaming endeavor to date, but they were recently outbid by Amazon for the rights to next season’s games.
Here’s a look at some of what Twitter has in the works for live video:
Entertainment
- Propagate: A live daily show covering pop culture, music, TV, celebrity tweets, and top trending discussions
- Live Nation: Concerts and original content from big names like the Zac Brown Band, Train, The Man, August Alsina, Portugal, and Marian Hill
- Viacom: The MTV Video Music Awards, movie awards, and TV awards
- IMG Fashion: Exclusive runway shows and behind the scenes Fashion Week content
Sports
- MLB: A weekly live MLB game plus a new three hour once per week show with look ins and highlights, analyzing top moments as happen
- Stadium: A new 24 hour video network with exclusive live college sporting events mixed with highlights, classic games, and a daily studio show
- NFL: Live pregame video and on-demand highlights
- WNBA: A live weekly regular season game
- The Players’ Tribune: A live show that will connect athletes directly with fans by letting them ask questions about topics on and off the field
- PGA: More than 70 hours of live competition coverage across 31 tournaments plus 360 degree video of the island hole at TPC Sawgrass during The Players Championship
News
- Bloomberg Media: A live news show backed by Bloomberg’s editorial and news gathering resources
- BuzzFeed News: A morning news and current events show
- The Verge: A weekly live show that will review and test new consumer electronics
- Cheddar: A millennial focused look at finance
