Twitter inks new streaming deal with NFL after losing live games to Amazon

By Trevor Mogg Published May 12, 2017

NFL Action — Joseph Sohm/Shutterstock

Twitter must’ve been sorely disappointed to have lost out to Amazon recently when the Prime Video operator snatched away Thursday night NFL clashes in a deal thought to be worth around $50 million.

Keen to keep some form of NFL content on its platform, Twitter has inked a multi-year deal with the league to offer football fans a range of programming, much of it live. However, now that Amazon has its hands on live game coverage, there’ll be no such real-time on-field action streaming on Twitter anytime soon.

Recommended Videos

Instead, the social media company will stream a 30-minute, NFL-produced live digital show five days a week during the NFL season, which kicks off in September. The program will be hosted by “top NFL Network talent,” says a release, and will include breaking news, game highlights, key storylines, fantasy projections, team power rankings, and pre-game updates.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

But that’s not all. The league said it’s going to use Twitter and Twitter-owned Periscope “to bring fans unique live pre-game access from each of its prime time game windows, as well as other key match-ups during the season.” Coverage is set to include everything from player warm-ups to sideline interviews, with the shows aiming to offer engaging behind-the-scenes footage on game days. Breaking news and game reviews will also feature.

The NFL’s Brian Rolapp said he expected the new daily live show to “quickly become some of the most popular programming on Twitter,” while the social media company’s Anthony Noto said he was excited that football fans around the world would now be able to access fresh NFL content on the platform.

News of the NFL deal comes little more than week after Twitter announced a ton of other new live-streaming coverage for its service, as the company seeks to boost its user base and ad revenue through such offerings. The new content offers original programming covering news and entertainment as well as a variety of sports.

Topics

Contributing Editor

Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…

Social Media

Bluesky barrels toward 1 million new sign-ups in a day

Social media app Bluesky has picked nearly a million new users just a day after exiting its invitation-only beta and opening to everyone.

In a post on its main rival -- X (formerly Twitter) -- Bluesky shared a chart showing a sudden boost in usage on the app, which can now be downloaded for free for iPhone and Android devices.

Computing

How to make a GIF from a YouTube video

woman sitting and using laptop

Sometimes, whether you're chatting with friends or posting on social media, words just aren't enough -- you need a GIF to fully convey your feelings. If there's a moment from a YouTube video that you want to snip into a GIF, the good news is that you don't need complex software to so it. There are now a bunch of ways to make a GIF from a YouTube video right in your browser.

Social Media

I paid Meta to ‘verify’ me — here’s what actually happened

In the fall of 2023 I decided to do a little experiment in the height of the “blue check” hysteria. Twitter had shifted from verifying accounts based (more or less) on merit or importance and instead would let users pay for a blue checkmark. That obviously went (and still goes) badly. Meanwhile, Meta opened its own verification service earlier in the year, called Meta Verified.

Mostly aimed at “creators,” Meta Verified costs $15 a month and helps you “establish your account authenticity and help[s] your community know it’s the real us with a verified badge." It also gives you “proactive account protection” to help fight impersonation by (in part) requiring you to use two-factor authentication. You’ll also get direct account support “from a real person,” and exclusive features like stickers and stars.