Twitter is unveiling a number of new content deals and renewals tonight at its NewFronts event for digital advertisers.
It’s only been two years since Twitter first joined the NewFronts. At the time, coverage suggested that executives saw the company’s video strategy as a crucial part of turning things around, but since then, the spotlight has moved on to other things (like rethinking the fundamental social dynamics of the service).
And yet the company is still making video deals, with 13 of them being unveiled tonight. That’s a lot of announcements, though considerably less than the 30 revealed at last year’s event. The company notes that it has already announced a number of partnerships this year, including one with the NBA.
“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 in a statement. “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.”
Here’s a quick rundown of all the news:
- A partnership with Univision covering Spanish-language sports, news and entertainment content, including 2020 election analysis and reporting.
- A multi-year extension of Twitter’s deal with the NFL, which includes highlights and analysis.
- The Players’ Tribune and Twitter are announcing a live talk show called “Don’t @ Me,” where two athletes with debate topics chosen in part by Twitter users.
- A multi-year extension of Twitter’s deal with Major League Soccer.
- Continued programming from ESPN, including new ESPN Onsite branding to highlight shows filmed on location at big events.
- Bleacher Report is bringing “House of Highlights” back for a second season.
- Blizzard Entertainment will be sharing content from BlizzCon in November, including the entire opening ceremony.
- The Wall Street Journal is launching WSJ What’s Now, an original video show for Twitter. The deal will also include live-streamed content from Wall Street Journal events.
- Bloomberg’s TicToc will expand its coverage to include events like the G20 Summit, United Nations General Assembly and World Economic Forum.
- CNET is announcing a new partnership with Twitter, which will cover major tech industry events.
- Time is developing new video content for Twitter around the Time Person of the Year and Time 100.
- Live Nation is bringing a new concert series exclusively to Twitter this fall, with 10 concerts in 10 weeks.
- At the Video Music Awards, Viacom-owned MTV will offer a Stan Cam where fans can share their own live-streamed reactions to the show. Viacom will also be live-streaming red carpet coverage from its other events.