Twitter to begin 24/7 video streaming to help make some money (Update: new partners announced)

Update, May 2: After revealing plans to begin 24/7 video streaming just last week, Twitter has now announced partnerships with a number of content creators to make it happen.

Twitter will stream 24-hour breaking news coverage with a new network from Bloomberg, as well as stream a morning show from Buzzfeed News, and a weekly program from The Verge.

As for sports, Twitter will deliver 20 live WNBA games per season for the next three years, in addition to weekly live MLBAM games and PGA Tour coverage.

Meanwhile, Twitter is set to provide exclusive entertainment scheduling from Live Nation (including a Zac Brown Band concert this Saturday), IMG Fashion (with exclusive runway shows and behind-the-scenes Fashion Week coverage) and others.

Those are just a few of the social platform’s current partners and it will be looking to add more to keep the 24/7 coverage coming.

Twitter is now going up against giants like YouTube, Facebook and many more competitors seeking ad revenue from video. Twitter had established itself as a platform that people engage with during TV programming even before it started its own streaming, however, so it could look like a good bet for prospective advertisers.

Original coverage, April 26: Twitter has a massive user base, but it exists among the likes of Snapchat, Spotify and others who are hugely popular without making any money. In an effort to change this, Twitter has confirmed that it will begin streaming live video around the clock.

“We will definitely have 24/7 (video) content on Twitter,” Twitter COO and CFO Anthony Noto told Buzzfeed during an interview last week. “Our goal is to be a dependable place so that when you want to see what’s happening, you think of going to Twitter.”

This news arrives ahead of the company’s Q1, 2017 earnings report which will land later today. Twitter has been turning its focus towards live-streaming options, including sports, news and entertainment programming, as a way to earn money as the growth of the platform slows. 24-hour content would provide Twitter with even more opportunities for 15-30 second ad-placements.

Noto said that Twitter would take some time to reach its 24/7 programming goal, but didn’t offer a specific timeline.

As for its performance in Q1, 2017, analysts are predicting the company’s first-ever, year-over-year revenue decline.