Today it was announced that Twitter would start carrying NFL highlights…as part of a new advertising partnership.
Via Reuters:
Under the new agreement, the NFL will package in-game highlights and other video content – as well as a short ad from a marketer – inside tweets that are "sponsored" and distributed by the marketer during games. The NFL and Twitter will both receive a cut of the proceeds, although neither side would reveal terms of the deal.
So basically, you see a sponsored tweet boasting NFL highlights, you click on it, you have to watch a :15-:30 second ad, and then you get your highlights.
Before you start screaming about the injustice, remember a minimum of two things:
1) You're most likely already watching ads before content anyway.
2) This is how you're able to access content for free.
We may find ads to be intrusive and lame, but that's also how we're able to access the content for free. If Twitter was charging us to click on a tweet and then view an ad, we'd be able to complain. Otherwise, this is just another way to monetize a billion dollar industry and give us what we're looking for. If you'd pay for the NFL Red Zone channel, what's the harm in seeing highlights for free at the cost of 30 seconds of your life? In those occasions when you're trying to follow a game and only have social media to do so, this could be your way to access real-time NFL highlights.
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