Thursday Night Football is coming to Twitter! NFL betting and tweeting during football games is going to be a bit more interactive, as the NFL has announced that for the 2016 season Thursday Night Football will be streamed directly on the popular social media network. Twitter reportedly paid 10 million dollars for the rights to live-stream 10 games during the season, in what already is a breakthrough in sports media coverage, and they hope it will be the beginning of a new ways for people to enjoy heir social experience.
As for the gaming community, this could potentially lead for fans betting on NFL football to have access to the games they are betting on at their fingertips anywhere in the world. And for the online sports betting community, allowing more people to have access to these events can represent a growth of interest in potential new players.
For the NFL, this deal during the 2016 season will give them a chance to test the waters and venture out and try to reach a much larger audience. Giving their games a bigger platform that can reach millions of people, specially those who are no longer cable subscribers, the National Football League will try to get back an audience that could grow potentially in the years to come.
This deal, if handled properly by Twitter, could make millions of NFL betting fans in the online sports betting community VERY happy.
Much more is to be announced by both parties, since it is still unknown on how exactly will Twitter broadcast these games and how it will alter the social media experience. However, NFL executives are very optimistic that this deal will usher in a new age in sports broadcasting, going as far as accepting only $10 million for the entire season, reportedly not the highest bid on the table, as companies such as Verizon, Facebook and even Amazon were in the trying to secure the deal.
This is a huge triumph for the social media giant as they have been struggling as of late to attract new users. Twitter has seen a 26% fall in their shares through out the year. This deal could be a turning point financially for them, as the deal also includes rights for the social network to sell online ads for the online broadcast.
This deal will be for only one season and, given the low amount of money that was paid for the rights, this might be an experiment on both parts. Should this be a success, the face of football could see some big changes in the future. Their largest contracts for broadcasting rights will expire in 2012, and by then it is expected that more digital rights could be negotiated in what could be monster deals.
This, however, will not be the first time the NFL has streamed games, yet this is the first deal for a season long commitment. NFL betting fans should open up a twitter account if they want to have access to all the Thursday Night Games (…and follow us on twitter while you are at it!