The NFL is coming to Twitter.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced Tuesday morning that Thursday Night Football will be streamed live on Twitter for 10 games in 2016.
The social-media platform was one of several companies vying for the opportunity to purchase the streaming package for the prime time slate.
The NFL has been searching for a partner after a successful trial run last year when Yahoo! won the right to stream the Jacksonville Jaguars-Buffalo Bills game from London.
"This is about transforming the fan experience with football. People watch NFL games with Twitter today," Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said in a statement. "Now they'll be able to watch right on Twitter Thursday nights."
In addition to live streaming the game, Twitter's partnership includes in-game highlights from TNF and pre-game Periscope broadcasts with players and teams.
The NFL expanded the Thursday night slate this season with CBS and NBC each owning five Thursday night games. The NFL Network will simulcast the contests with Twitter owning the streaming rights in what the NFL is calling its "Tri-Cast" distribution model (broadcast TV, cable TV and digital). NFL Network will exclusively broadcast an additional eight Thursday, Saturday night and additional contests to be determined.
With more and more consumers turning to mobile and streaming devices for their video content, the NFL has vigorously pursued putting its product on an internet platform. With pro football garnering overwhelming popularity among television viewers and advertisers, there is huge potential for companies like Twitter to up their worldwide profile by live-streaming NFL games.
"Twitter is where live events unfold and is the right partner for the NFL as we take the latest step in serving fans around the world live NFL football," Goodell said in a statement. "There is a massive amount of NFL-related conversation happening on Twitter during our games and tapping into that audience, in addition to our viewers on broadcast and cable, will ensure Thursday Night Football is seen on an unprecedented number of platforms this season. This agreement also provides additional reach for those brands advertising with our broadcast partners."
