Twitter Debuts New Slate of Best-In-Class Premium Content Deals

Univision, The Wall Street Journal, NFL, ESPN, and Viacom among collaborations that offer advertisers the opportunity to connect to Twitter’s influential and receptive audiences

Twitter has returned to the Digital Content NewFronts with an expanded lineup of new live and on-demand premium content and video programming deals. Twitter is now offering advertisers new opportunities to connect with influential and receptive audiences throughout the world’s most seminal cultural moments.

New collaborations and renewals were announced across news, sports, gaming and entertainment, reflecting the conversations and interests people are passionate about on Twitter.

“When you collaborate with the top publishers in the world, you can develop incredibly innovative ways to elevate premium content and bring new dimensions to the conversations that are already happening on Twitter,” said Twitter Global VP and Head of Content Partnerships Kay Madati. “Together with our partners, we developed this new slate of programming specifically for our audiences, and designed the content to fuel even more robust conversation on Twitter.”

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Madati and Sarah Personette, Vice President of Twitter Global Client Solutions, were joined on stage by Twitter’s Global Head of Revenue and Operations Matthew Derella, along with Univision News anchor and host Jorge Ramos, New York Giants wide receiver Golden Tate, NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, Wall Street Journal Editor-in-Chief Matt Murray, Wall Street Journal CMO Suzi Watford, singer/songwriter Madison Beer,  and MTV’s Sway Calloway.

“Aligning with premium video content on Twitter is the way for brands to move at the speed of culture and connect to the most valuable audiences when they are most receptive,” said Sarah Personette, Vice President of Twitter Global Client Solutions. “Cultural resonance is not only critical, but it delivers results for marketers who want to launch something new and connect with what’s happening.”

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Video Programming Premium Content Deals

Video programming announced on stage include the following:

• Univision: This year, Univision and Twitter are launching a content partnership for Spanish-language audiences in the U.S. to better serve the Hispanic community, which will span Twitter’s most dynamic sports, news and entertainment audiences. Univision’s content includes 2020 Election analysis and reporting with VISION 2020, select highlights from two of the world’s top soccer properties Liga MX and UEFA Champions League, Latin music award show coverage of Premios Juventud and Premio Lo Nuestro and must-see reality moments with Reina de La Canción and Mira Quién Baila.

Sports and Gaming

• NFL: As part of a multiyear partnership extension with Twitter, the NFL will continue to program a full slate of video highlights, breaking news and analysis, and will also include new live shows anchored around NFL tentpole events. Beginning with Kickoff and running through the NFL Draft, these live shows will be produced specifically for a Twitter audience, providing fans with unique access to some of the biggest events in sports. Additionally, the NFL will deliver more weekly content with new video clip series and content formats such as Q&As, fan polls and Twitter moments to ensure users never miss a minute of the action.
• The Players’ Tribune: The Players’ Tribune and Twitter partner to bring you the next generation of the talk show called “Don’t @ Me”. It is an interactive live broadcast featuring two athletes battling out every “Greatest of All Time” topic under the sun, with the Twitter community jumping in. Twitter will help decide the debated topics, which are based around key sports beats, major cultural moments and other trending topics. Throughout the entire show, fans will have the opportunity to engage with the athletes and the host by commenting on athlete debates. Notable comments will be featured between each segment, and fan voting will play a role in determining the athlete winner.
• MLS: MLS announced a multi-year extension of their content agreement with Twitter that provides fans highlights, engagement opportunities and a comprehensive slate of live matches in English via @UnivisionSports and @MLS. In addition to partnering with Univision on live matches, MLS will post every goal on Twitter and will continue to collaborate on pioneering initiatives throughout the agreement that connect the league’s millennial and multicultural fan base with new ways to engage with high-quality MLS content.
• ESPN: “ESPN Onsite” will be the brand extension of ESPN live shows from location, which offers fans more of what they expect from ESPN on Twitter: Access. Over the next year, “Onsite” will include the existing ESPN franchises on Twitter like The College Football Show, Hoop Streams, Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show, and MLS Countdown Live. Beyond those programs, ESPN will add Onsite branding on Twitter around other tentpole events when they are on location. In addition to live video, these programs also feature a mix of clips and fan engagement opportunities such as polls and Twitter moments available for sponsorship.
• Bleacher Report: Bleacher Report is bringing House of Highlights back to Twitter after a wildly successful first season that welcomed guests such as Lonzo Ball, Dennis Smith Jr., Nick Young and Hasan Minhaj. In season 2, The House of Highlights Show will feature athletes and celebrities joining Omar Raja, House of Highlights founder, for an all-access journey into what it takes to break the Internet. Fueled by Twitter conversation, the show will be elevating engagement to a whole new level and include live on-location episodes at tentpole events. Expect even more unbelievable highlight moments and new sponsorship opportunities for brands looking to engage with the next generation of sports fans.
• Blizzard Entertainment: Blizzard Entertainment hosts tens of thousands of gamers from around the world and millions more online each year at its popular gaming convention, BlizzCon. For BlizzCon 2019 (November 1–2), Blizzard will be delivering a selection of exciting content from the show to Twitter for the first time. Viewers worldwide will be able to enjoy the entirety of the BlizzCon opening ceremony, exclusive behind-the-scenes interviews and live broadcasts, clips and highlights of game-developer panels, esports tournaments, and more.

News

• The Wall Street Journal: The Wall Street Journal is launching WSJ What’s Now, a new franchise that will bring enterprise reporting, business analysis and markets insights to Twitter in an original video format. From sunrise to primetime, this new franchise will reach an influential audience throughout the day, sharing exclusive stories and expert-level context at the speed of Twitter. As part of WSJ What’s Now, The Wall Street Journal will live stream its premium conferences and events – including the Future of Everything and WSJ Tech D.Live – on Twitter, giving people an unprecedented opportunity to watch news unfold through panels and interviews with industry titans, innovative founders, investors and ambitious minds.
• Bloomberg: In less than two years, TicToc by Bloomberg has established itself as a leading global news network for the next generation. This year, as part of its unique partnership with Twitter, TicToc is expanding its in-depth, real-time coverage of the most important global events sparking conversation worldwide: G20 Summit, United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and World Economic Forum.
• CNET: CNET will showcase its signature, expert video content in a new partnership with Twitter. For the first time, sponsorship opportunities will be available on Twitter for CNET’s coverage of major industry events such as CES, Mobile World Conference, buying guides for today’s hottest and most relevant products and the latest technology news.
• TIME: Each year, the TIME Person of the Year and the TIME 100 are two of the most anticipated and discussed global events. Now, for the first time, TIME will develop content exclusive to Twitter to bring exclusive insight into the discussion around Person of the Year and TIME 100, including live streams, Moments and more. TIME will also use the latest video and Moments formats to bring its cutting edge reporting on Health and Wellness to Twitter’s global audience.

Entertainment:

• Live Nation: This fall, Live Nation is launching a new concert and festival series exclusively on Twitter. The series will feature 10 concerts, in 10 weeks, with 10 world-class artists, bringing the power of live to millions of music fans. Live Nation will also capture must-see moments from iconic festivals including Governors Ball, Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo Arts & Music Festival, and Electric Daisy Carnival, among others, and share recaps from festival Twitter handles for fans to relive the magic long after the experience ends. These live events and related content give brands the opportunity to meaningfully engage with fans when they’re truly listening.
• Viacom: For the first time ever, the MTV VMA Stan Cam gives fans the power to create their livestream, their way, all on Twitter. Using a series of short-form livestreams on Twitter, MTV will ask fans to decide which audience member they’d like to watch on a live reaction cam or follow backstage and behind-the-scenes during the show’s biggest moments. MTV will also ask Twitter fans to send questions to talent for real-time feedback in-show. Viacom will also be bringing back red carpet coverage of BET, CMT and MTV’s biggest tentpole events.

These new offerings for advertisers add to Twitter’s robust slate of video content partnerships already announced this year, including collaborations with the NBA, MLB, PGA TOUR, BuzzFeed News, FOX Sports The Ringer, CNN, Marvel and the Drone Racing League.

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