The world used to be a simpler place. Major television networks controlled what we watched, and major newspaper and media outlets controlled what we read. Then, the internet happened, and everything changed. Power and influence shifted from the few to the many, and suddenly anyone with a keyboard could become a journalist, and anyone with a camera could be a broadcaster.
A key player in this transformation was Twitter, which gave anyone and everyone a voice, albeit in just 140 characters. Over the years, many social media platforms came and went, or evolved in significant ways. Yet, Twitter remained largely unchanged—aside from ditching its original, much-derided logo.
Now, Twitter might have just made its most significant move since its inception ten years ago. Despite being primarily a micro-blogging platform, Twitter announced that it has secured the rights to stream Thursday night NFL games. What’s interesting is that Twitter has landed this deal for a fraction of its market value—paying $10 million for a ten-game deal, whereas Yahoo! paid $17 million for a single game.
The big question now is how this broadcasting will play out—will people watch the games directly on Twitter’s website, or will the company create a new platform for the content? We’ll find out in the coming weeks.