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Twitter will be serving up video from ESPN, NBC and Viacom

SportsCenter Live is coming to Twitter. With its video views nearly double what they were a year ago, Twitter is widening its slate of shows to 30 from 16.

Joan E. Solsman Former Senior Reporter
Joan E. Solsman was CNET's senior media reporter, covering the intersection of entertainment and technology. She's reported from locations spanning from Disneyland to Serbian refugee camps, and she previously wrote for Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal. She bikes to get almost everywhere and has been doored only once.
Expertise Streaming video, film, television and music; virtual, augmented and mixed reality; deep fakes and synthetic media; content moderation and misinformation online Credentials
  • Three Folio Eddie award wins: 2018 science & technology writing (Cartoon bunnies are hacking your brain), 2021 analysis (Deepfakes' election threat isn't what you'd think) and 2022 culture article (Apple's CODA Takes You Into an Inner World of Sign)
Joan E. Solsman
2 min read
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Twitter announced new video partnerships at its Newfront presentation to advertisers in New York. 

James Martin/CNET

Twitter is widening its video partnerships with media companies -- both old and new school -- by bringing in new shows like SportsCenter Live from ESPN and live video and clips from NBC Universal. 

As its video views have nearly doubled in the past year, Twitter is almost doubling the number of shows it broadcasts over its social network to 30 from 16, the company said Monday at a presentation to advertisers in New York known as a Newfront. 

Twitter has been working to brush away connotations that it's the struggling, slow-growth underdog to monolith Facebook . Its real-time, short-burst style of sharing has given it a vanguard role in momentous events, like the #MeToo, #BlackLivesMatter and Arab Spring movements -- and it's also the US president's daily mouthpiece of choice. But its troubles matching the growth of bigger rivals have been a lingering issue for Twitter, as have accusations that it fails to appropriately rein in abuse. 

Elevating video has been a key strategy for Twitter. 

One media company that's new to a direct Twitter video partnership is Disney, through its ESPN arm, with SportsCenter Live. That's a Twitter take on its flagship program that will blend breaking news coverage with insight, analysis and reporting through Twitter's Moments tab. 

NBCUniversal will distribute a variety of live video and clips from the main NBC broadcast network, NBC News, MSNBC, CNBC, Telemundo, Today and E! News. Viacom will contribute exclusive red carpet coverage of MTV's and BET's awards shows and events, as well as new Twitter shows like Comedy Central's Creator's Room, which will put a comedy spin on the day's trending topics, and BET Breaks, a weekly rundown-style show on pop culture.

Twitter is also renewing deals with previous partners like BuzzFeed and Major League Baseball. A full list of partners is below.

  • NBCUniversal 
  • Ellen Digital Studios
  • Live Nation Concert Series
  • Hearst Magazines Digital Media: Delish and Seventeen
  • Viacom: Comedy Central's Creator's Room, BET Breaks, MTV News, MTV News International
  • Will Packer Media
  • BuzzFeed News
  • Vice News
  • Pattern
  • #HereWeAre
  • HuffPost
  • History
  • Vox Media
  • BuzzFeed News
  • ESPN: SportsCenter Live, Fantasy Focus Live. Formula 1, MLB, MLS, Bleacher Report. The Players' Tribune, Barstool Sports 
  • Call of Duty World League
  • The Game Awards
  • Gamespot (which is owned by CNET parent company CBS) 
  • IEM
  • IGN
  • Creator Originals, Powered by Niche
  • Live Brand Studio

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