Twitter announced a wide range of original content and channel deals with companies ranging from NBCUniversal to sports and esports leagues, as well as online video services focused on music, food and fashion at today's NewFronts advertising presentations. It also announced the launch of Curated Categories, bundles of brand-safe content in several interest areas.
As with most other companies presenting on Day 3 of the NewFronts, Twitter executives emphasized brand safety, incremental reach to younger and more diverse audiences beyond traditional TV, and a huge jump in usage since the pandemic hit. As well, the company focused on Twitter's unique position as a co-viewing companion for many consumers of traditional TV who simultaneously watch and tweet with others across the planet.
Like Snapchat, which opened the day's presentations, Twitter balanced its pitch between enhanced content deals from relationships with prized publishing partners, and an enhanced program to connect brands to a stable of vetted high-profile creators and off-camera talent that can create sponsored programming, through its Arthouse program, which is expanding.
As part of the NBCU announcements, Twitter featured a short clip from NBCUniversal's long-time ad chief, Linda Yaccarino, saying, "Culture and community go hand in hand, so it's no wonder that NBCUniversal and Twitter go hand in hand too. Together, our companies are giving global audiences a front-row seat to the biggest events..."
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As part of the latest deals, the companies will work together to spotlight more than 30 upcoming events, Yaccarino said, beginning with the Tokyo Olympics, which remain set (however uncertainly) for July after a year's delay because of the pandemic.
The companies have worked together for nearly a decade, with NBCU accounts attracting a combined 100 million followers on Twitter that receive 200 million views a month, Yaccarino said.
The content deals announced during the presentation include:
- Olympics coverage on Twitter will be led by a Tokyo-based daily news show called Talkin'Tokyo. The companies also will combine to provide daily event highlights, behind-the-scenes coverage and more. Separately, NBC's news side will expand its Twitter presence with more original programming and audience engagement, with highlights, live streams, Q&As and other exclusive material from Today, CNBC and Noticias Telemundo (in both English and Spanish). NBC News also will extend an existing Inspiring America series onto Twitter's recently launched audio-only service, Spaces.
- Music programming deals with trade publication Billboard and online site Genius. The Billboard deal will be feature a daily chart tracking the most popular music on Twitter, similar to Billboard's long-time Hot 100 charts. Genius has created hundreds of episodes of Verified, which talks with music notables about their work. The Verified shows will expand their programming with Twitter-first or -exclusive polls, fan Q&As and similar elements.
- Lifestyle shows from online video publishers Refinery29 and Tastemade. Refinery29 will launch two Twitter services spotlighting content from its Unbothered and Somos networks, which focus on Black and Latinx women's issues respectively. Food-focused Tastemade will create a branded "holiday hotline" on Twitter featuring on-call chefs available to answer questions and share recipes and how-to videos. Tastemade also will begin a series called Feed For Thought, allowing food-industry notables to take over its Twitter feed for the day.
- Sports and esports deals beyond the Olympics include one with Riot Games' League of Legends, the world's most popular video game, for enhanced coverage of two upcoming major esports tournaments. Twitter also announced enhanced deals with the WNBA, Major League Baseball and the NHL. The WNBA deal, now in its fifth year, will include exclusive telecasts of 12 games this season. All the deals include real-time highlights, scores, behind-the-scenes content, post-game interviews, and more.
Separate from the content deals, Twitter announced its Curated Categories pre-roll product for advertisers, bundling content from specific groups of carefully chosen publishers around a specific theme, such as sports/gaming personalities or "light-hearted content." Some of the categories include esports teams, videogame personalities, women in sports & gaming, and health & wellness.