Twitter and CBS will be pairing up to bring clips of live TV to your feed, reports TechCrunch. The two companies will work together on Twitter’s Amplify project, meant to let brands target people watching a particular show and let networks pull viewers in by posting relevant data to Twitter. Among other things, that can mean embedding nearly real-time video clips into tweets — probably the closest you’ll get to live TV on Twitter — or creating interesting compilations that will pique interest in a full TV show. And while Twitter is already working with the BBC, ESPN, Fox, and others, the CBS partnership could be a much broader deal.
CBS partners with Twitter to put TV clips in tweets
is a senior tech and policy editor focused on online platforms and free expression. Adi has covered virtual and augmented reality, the history of computing, and more for The Verge since 2011.
According to TechCrunch, Twitter announced the news at an Advertising Week promotional show, continuing an ongoing effort to take advantage of its popularity with TV viewers. Twitter is often described as the true “second screen” for television, and it’s invested in TV analytics and more targeted advertising for specific shows; while short ads play before video clips, Twitter says advertisers are trying to cut them to only a few seconds. As part of its partnership, CBS will be using Amplify for 20 of its brands — including CNET and CBS News — and 42 shows.
Twitter’s video partnerships started primarily as a way to promote instant replays for live sports, but now, Twitter says it’s expanding. For CBS’ investigative series 60 Minutes, for example, the network will be posting recap clips titled “60 Minutes in 60 Seconds.” And with Advertising Week just starting, Twitter says to keep an eye out for more announcements.
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