Roger Fingas
Twitter has reportedly secured the rights to stream weekly games from both Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League, significantly boosting its nascent entry into live sports.
The rights are effective immediately, although game schedules will only be released at a later date, Variety said on Monday. The issue is currently moot with the NHL, which won't resume play until October.
Once coverage is underway MLB and NHL games will be free to stream once a week, regardless of whether or not someone has a Twitter account. With both leagues viewers will be subject to TV blackout restrictions, though MLB games will otherwise be accessible worldwide, excluding some territories. 120 Sports will offer a nightly, multi-sport recap show called The Rally.
Twitter will owe a certain minimum in ad revenue from live streams, after which a split will take effect. It is, however, the exclusive rights holder among free "over-the-top" platforms.
Prior to today, the social network already had deals for NFL, NBA, and some college coverage. The NFL agreement, however, was only for 10 games on Thursday nights, while the NBA deal was limited to two live shows, not even actual games.
In the past year Twitter has been looking to better justify its existence, faced with concerns about how to grow revenue. Its chief rival, Facebook, has had more success with live streaming and other hosted content.
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4 Comments
Next week they'll be adding free speech to their platform.
Glad to see Twitter making product moves now that Dorsey is back at the helm. It might take a little time to show up in earnings but I like the momentum they're building with these partnerships.
Add Streaming Comedy to their platform & I’m in. Sports only appeal to a minority of people—albeit a loud—even obnoxious—minority.