Thursday Night Football’s Twitter deal is exciting

Oct 9, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; General view of the NFL Network Thursday Night Football set before the game between the Indianapolis Colts and the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 9, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; General view of the NFL Network Thursday Night Football set before the game between the Indianapolis Colts and the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

Thursday Night Football is building on the NFL’s Yahoo! streaming experience from 2015 that saw the Jacksonville Jaguars play the Buffalo Bills in London and will bring a similar experience to Twitter.

Long gone are the days of only being able to watch your local team in your home market on Sundays. With packages like NFL Sunday Ticket and numerous games broadcast at different times throughout the week, the NFL has become a complete media onslaught. Our attention is no longer only on the tube on weekends, it’s on social media and our favorite blogs every day of the week.

Twitter is partnering with the NFL to make that integration even more complete, gaining the rights to stream Thursday Night Football games.

Building on the streaming trial run by Yahoo! in 2015, Twitter’s streaming of NFL games is a natural extension and promises to be even more impressive. As noted by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell:

"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."

For many NFL fans, one eye is on the television and another is on Twitter either through a computer, tablet, or phone already. Now they’ll be able to watch with even further integration, which is something that many of us may take for granted in coming years.

The NFL brand continues to grow in new ways, stretching into social media as it becomes a more mature market and developing along with growing trends. The Jacksonville Jaguars were on the cutting edge with Yahoo! and also are on the cutting edge in their stadium experience, recognizing the desire for social media integration at the game.

More from Black and Teal

Now, the NFL brings the game to our social media. It’s an exciting change and one I look forward to seeing implemented.