In somewhat unexpected NFL news, select Thursday Night Football games will be available for online streaming next season via Twitter.
Twitter is a social media giant, but according to Bloomberg, they have struggled to engage new users, and they are looking to expand their offerings. At present, Twitter's main functionality is providing a platform for users to share thoughts encapsulated in a maximum of 140 characters. Per Bloomberg, it's primarily a tool for journalists, celebrities and politicians to engage with their respective audiences.
If you're active on Twitter, or if you've paid attention to any of our tweet recaps following Falcons games, you've probably deduced that there's a high level of engagement on Twitter among football fans during NFL games. According to Bloomberg, Twitter's CEO, Jack Dorsey, said this is precisely what Twitter and the NFL want to capitalize upon.
Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey says Twitter's role in the world centers around bringing people together to watch live events in the place where information comes the fastest.
The agreement covers only the 10 Thursday night games being broadcast on CBS and NBC, and the league is experimenting with those matchups because they typically draw smaller audiences than the Sunday and Monday night games. Twitter was reportedly bidding against digital media heavyweights like Yahoo! and Amazon to acquire the rights. Facebook was in the mix until they dropped out of contention last week.
Your thoughts on Twitter streaming Thursday Night games?