Facebook and Twitter eyeing live TV streaming rights to bolster video offering
Facebook and Twitter are stepping up their game to bring every media medium under their umbrella, now competing to acquire the right to stream conventional TV programming on their platforms.
According to the New York Post, both social media giants have approached programmers about a deal for the rights to stream live TV.
Facebook has been in meetings with numerous TV executives over the past few weeks and is pitching the NFL to acquire rights to a new Thursday Night Football digital package, sources told the Post.
It is rumoured that Facebook discussed the possibility of creating a small bundle of channels to deliver the programming, the Post also reported.
It is not yet known how Facebook and Twitter plan to make money for programmers who provide content for their streams, since they are built upon free models, but advertising will likely be a big player in this.
It comes as the two have been fighting to provide the best live streaming video offering, a battle which began after Facebook rolled out its Live broadcast to all users in the US in January, a direct competitor to Periscope's live streaming model.
The Drum contacted Facebook and Twitter on this, who did not have any comment to add at the time of publishing.