Two years ago, even as its stock plummeted and takeover rumors swirled, Twitter Inc. was hatching a plan to become a force in live video. The company’s goal was to help users discover “what's happening now.”There were plenty of skeptics who said the battered company couldn’t possibly compete with deeper-pocketed rivals like Facebook Inc.Yet Twitter has carved out a niche in the noisy world of video content and now streams a range of programming, from “Game of Thrones” recaps to National Football League highlights. It has attracted big advertisers, including Goldman Sachs and AT&T;, that are buying video ads in the timeline or running brand campaigns next to live broadcasts.Twitter is still dwarfed by Facebook and struggling to grow beyond 330 million monthly active users, but it’s doing as good a job as anyone at figuring out live-streaming—a medium that has been stubbornly slow to take off in the U.S.
ESPN, the long-time jewel in cable’s crown, has a new head to sit upon and its name is streaming video.Disney took the first big step toward its streaming future this week with the debut of ESPN+, the hotly anticipated $4.99-a-month subscription service tied to its popular sports-TV channel. Next year will see an even bigger move when it debuts a family friendly offering starring Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and other Disney brands.Coincidentally or not the company that started the streaming-TV revolution a decade ago, Netflix, celebrates the 20th anniversary of its launch this week. CEO Reed Hastings pegged it at a press event last month: “Everyone is adapting to the new world. And over 10, 20, or 30 years, linear networks that produce great shows will have their own internet channels.”We may not have to wait that long. Disney isn’t the first media company to take its TV channels “over the top,” the industry term for delivering TV and film over the internet rather than through traditional cable and satellite channels. It also ironically means excessive, or too far. Time Warner has HBO Now. CBS has CBS All Access and a subscription service for Showtime. Turner launched a pay-per-view live sports platform earlier this month, just to name a few. With ESPN being the mainstay of cable TV, its move feels like an inflection point.
Be the first