Twitter’s push into the live video market has intensified. The company announced a deal previously that they obtained the rights to live stream select NFL games this season. The company will livestream their first game of this season on Thursday Night Football in a strategic attempt to lure in new users.
The company tested their livestream capabilities earlier in the year, streaming several political events and even Wimbledon.
Twitter’s trials weren’t as successful as hoped due to the difficulty of finding the livestreams. Many users of the Twitter platform don’t know that the company offers livestreams. The company’s answer to the problem was released today, a day before the company streams its first NFL game of the season.
The company released an app for the Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV and Xbox one. The app is dedicated to the company’s livestreaming service, and it will allow users to watch NFL games, NBA and MLB games as well as financial news via Cheddar and Bloomberg News among other programs.
The livestreams are free as well as the app, but the functionality is only offered in select countries due to streaming rights.
All streams will be provided in high definition, and users will not need a Twitter account to access the free programming.
Apple TV’s app is more advanced than the others and will allow for side-by-side videos of the event provided via tweets. This will allow for fan input and “instant” replays of a sort.
Twitter’s subscriber numbers have remained flat. Under the guidance of Jack Dorsey, the company has been transitioning into becoming a real-time news engine. Twitter has dived into streaming video to offer a robust experience that includes not only live events, but conversations via Twitter to provide a complete entertainment experience.
Highlights of the entire game can be watched in the app. There is an additional view available, too, which allows users to view tweets about the event.