Twitter inks global live-streaming deal with Bloomberg to showcase US election debates
Twitter and Bloomberg have signed an exclusive deal to live-stream broadcasts of the latter's 2016 US presidential and vice-presidential debates on the social network.
Twitter inks live-streaming deal with Bloomberg to showcase US election detbates
The agreement expands upon an existing partnership between the duo following an announcement in July that Twitter was to stream select Bloomberg TV shows.
As well as footage from debates between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, the stream will also include special Bloomberg politics programming before and after each show, which will be led by managing editors of the division Mark Halperin and John Heilemann. Additional Bloomberg Politics talent, reporting, and expert analysis will contribute to the coverage.
"Twitter is where the 2016 presidential election is happening every single day," said Anthony Noto, Twitter's chief financial officer, adding that live-streaming the debates with Bloomberg combined with the live commentary and conversation on Twitter would "create a one-screen experience at the center of the action unlike any other."
The move comes as Twitter seeks to position itself as a news platform rather than a social network. Earlier this year the company moved its app into the 'News' section of Apple's App Store, and unveiled a mammoth campaign inviting people to sign up to the platform to 'See What's Happening' around the world.
Today's deal is the latest in a slew of real-time streaming partnerships secured by the microblogging site over the past twelve months, with it having signed agreements with organizations like the NFL and more recently, Cheddar.
In total, Tweets sent during both the first Democratic and Republican primary debates in 2016 received over one billion impressions, so it's little wonder Twitter wants a slice of the action.
"We are thrilled to extend our partnership with Twitter to include our coverage of the US presidential debates during this unprecedented and remarkable US election," said Bloomberg media chief executive Justin B Smith.
"Bloomberg’s non-partisan political coverage stands out from the crowd for its independence and quality. By leveraging the power of Twitter’s enormous real-time platform for reaction and analysis, this partnership will provide viewers the opportunity to watch and interact with the news coming from this fall’s debates as they happen live on smartphones, computers and TVs."
The coverage will kick off on 26 September.