The NFL has announced that Twitter won the bidding over the rights to live stream NFL Thursday Night Football games. Twitter outbid many other large companies, such Yahoo, Amazon, Google, Apple, Verizon, and Facebook.
The deal is valued at about $10 million and involves Twitter streaming 10 Thursday night games in this upcoming season. One of the great appeals of Twitter is that it does not require a subscription.
The NFL took an interest in expanding online services over traditional television after the great success of last season’s Yahoo live stream. Last season, Yahoo was given the rights to live stream the London game between the Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars. Yahoo brought in 30 sponsors and the live stream attracted about 33.6 million views.
In a statement, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said “There is a massive amount of NFL-related conversation happening on Twitter during our games and tapping into that audience, in addition to our viewers on broadcast and cable, will ensure Thursday Night Football is seen on an unprecedented number of platforms this season.”