Twitter Could Be Going All-In On Live Streaming

Twitter Inc TWTR and Facebook Inc FB have long competed with each other as two of the largest and most successful social media networks on the planet. Twitter shareholders are painfully aware of the fact that Twitter has often come out with the short end of the stick competing with Facebook, but Twitter appears to be going all-in on streaming video.

According to The Ringer’s Kate Knibbs, while Facebook is dabbling in streaming video content, Twitter is positioning itself to be the premier streaming sports option for cable TV cord-cutters.

Twitter will launch its Thursday night NFL stream this week, but Twitter has also inked streaming deals with Wimbledon, the NBA, the NHL, MLB and CBS News.

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“Twitter doesn’t want to be the world’s newspaper,” Knibbs wrote. “It wants to be the world’s basic cable network.”

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The NFL played a pivotal role in the rise of Fox Sports and ESPN, and Twitter is hoping it will help establish the platform as a legitimate streaming sports destination.

In other words, Twitter may not be competing with Facebook Live this time. It may be competing with Twenty-First Century Fox Inc FOXA.

One thing is certain: Twitter needs to do something drastic to change things up. As user growth has stagnated, Twitter’s stock is down 73 percent since the beginning of 2014.

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