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Twitter, BBC America announce video partnership

The pair will offer the first "in-tweet branded video synced to entertainment TV series," according to a BBC America tweet.

Steven Musil Night Editor / News
Steven Musil is the night news editor at CNET News. He's been hooked on tech since learning BASIC in the late '70s. When not cleaning up after his daughter and son, Steven can be found pedaling around the San Francisco Bay Area. Before joining CNET in 2000, Steven spent 10 years at various Bay Area newspapers.
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It looks like Twitter is ready to make its rumored foray into the TV business.

The microblogging site has partnered with BBC America to offer what the network trumpets as the first "in-tweet branded video synced to entertainment TV series," according to a tweet sent Thursday evening. What this means exactly is not clear. Presumably, the tweeted video would be companion content to the programming that appears on the network, with the partners driving traffic to each other.

Specifics of the agreement were not revealed. CNET has contacted Twitter for more information and will update this report when we learn more.

The social network has had tie-ups with TV networks in the past, partnering with NBCUniversal during last year's Olympic Games to corral tweets from athletes and fans but not presenting video. But Twitter has been looking to expand its profile beyond its 140-character message to include entertainment.

Twitter officially unveiled #music -- its standalone music discovery app -- on Thursday during "Good Morning America." The app uses Twitter activity, including tweets and other engagement, to detect the most popular tracks and emerging artists.

While #music gives Twitter a foothold in the music business, a recent Bloomberg reported held that the social network may soon cut deals with NBC and Viacom to feature those networks' TV content -- and run ads against it. Last November, Twitter announced that veteran Hollywood executive Peter Chernin had joined its board.