NEWS
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Twitter to livestream both Republican and Democratic National Conventions following CBS deal
‘Livestream all things’ may soon become Twitter, Inc.’s official company motto, with news Monday that the social blogging platform has signed a deal to livestream the Republican and Democratic National Conventions.
The deal, signed with television network CBS, will see Twitter mobile and web users able to watch a live feed provided by CBSN, the CBS-owned online news service, with tweets added for extra benefit.
“We’re doing it as an experiment around the conventions because it’s a unique moment in time and I think it does lend itself to this type of distribution,” Marc DeBevoise, President of CBS Interactive, told USA TODAY. “It could be really meaningful.”
He went on to say that in addition to providing a platform to stream CBSN coverage, the partnership will also provide access to Twitter data and information, including tweets about the convention for reporters to use in their coverage.
“Twitter is the fastest way to find out what’s happening in politics and to have a discussion about it,” Twitter Chief Financial Officer Anthony Noto said in a statement. “We believe we’re giving people around the world the best way to experience democracy in action.”
Streaming
Twitter first trialed its live streaming product with the Wimbledon tennis tournament last week, and will start streaming Thursday Night Football from September following a $10 million deal inked with the National Football League (NFL) in April. In addition, it has been reported that Twitter is also talking to the National Basketball Association (NBA), Major League Soccer (MLS) and Turner Broadcasting to obtain further streaming rights.
While we’ve described Twitter’s push into live sports streaming as being bizarre, a deal to livestream the two major political party conventions make far more sense for the company given that it’s a popular platform for politicians and political junkies alike, including at times even a forum for jousting between the two likely Presidential candidates.
How many people will tune into the broadcast is another matter, particularly given that the conventions will be covered on multiple other channels and likely websites as well.
The GOP National Convention runs from July 18 to 21, while the Democratic National Convention runs from July 25 through to 28.
Image credit: donkeyhotey/Flickr/CC by 2.0
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