Twitter’s NFL Stream Ruffles Big Media Feathers - MoneyBeat - WSJ: ENLARGE
PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS
By MIRIAM GOTTFRIED
Sep 21, 2016 2:04 pm ET
0 COMMENTS
Twitter scored a touchdown last Thursday�with a glitch-free first live�stream of a National Football League game. Its success�may�be irking�some in traditional TV.
At an investor conference�Tuesday, CBS Chief Executive�Les Moonves made a comment about�Twitter “showing our games online.” The�NFL is�doing what it should be doing by slicing�up the rights to its games, he said. “But�if it was up to us, they wouldn’t do it.”
CBS�shares�the TV�rights to�Thursday�night games�with NBC and the�NFL Network.
Speaking at the same conference�Wednesday,��Walt Disney�Chief�Bob Iger offered praise for Twitter’s NFL�efforts. He noted that the live stream was made possible by BAMTech in which Disney recently announced a 33%�stake. Still, he added “nobody monetizes sports like ESPN.”
Twitter’s stream only had an average audience of 243,000 per minute, versus 15.4 million viewers for the average Thursday night football game last season. But Big Media chiefs are watching.
PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS
By MIRIAM GOTTFRIED
Sep 21, 2016 2:04 pm ET
0 COMMENTS
Twitter scored a touchdown last Thursday�with a glitch-free first live�stream of a National Football League game. Its success�may�be irking�some in traditional TV.
At an investor conference�Tuesday, CBS Chief Executive�Les Moonves made a comment about�Twitter “showing our games online.” The�NFL is�doing what it should be doing by slicing�up the rights to its games, he said. “But�if it was up to us, they wouldn’t do it.”
CBS�shares�the TV�rights to�Thursday�night games�with NBC and the�NFL Network.
Speaking at the same conference�Wednesday,��Walt Disney�Chief�Bob Iger offered praise for Twitter’s NFL�efforts. He noted that the live stream was made possible by BAMTech in which Disney recently announced a 33%�stake. Still, he added “nobody monetizes sports like ESPN.”
Twitter’s stream only had an average audience of 243,000 per minute, versus 15.4 million viewers for the average Thursday night football game last season. But Big Media chiefs are watching.