【Hong Kong Archives】

Twitter is Hong Kong Archivescoming to television. The microblogging site's transformation into a live video network is taking another step forward on Monday with the announcement of Twitter apps for Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Microsoft’s Xbox One.

The apps will host live streaming video as well as tweets, Vines and Periscopes. Interestingly for the network that has struggled to grow its active user base, app users do not need to have a Twitter account to access the content. The apps are free and do not require a cable or satellite subscription either.

The news comes just a day ahead of Twitter's first out of 10 NFL Thursday Night Football games streaming on its own network. This Thursday's New York Jets and Buffalo Bills game will stream on CBS, NFL Network and Twitter.

The landmark deal, where Twitter reportedly spent $10 million on the rights and won out over Verizon and Amazon, is the network's big bet to prove the future value of the company at a time when its stock has been slammed amid constant rumors of a takeover.

The apps will stream videos from other deals Twitter has inked, including MLB Advanced Media, NBA, Pac 12 Networks, Campus Insiders, Bloomberg News and business news startup Cheddar.

“These devices will bring Twitter’s live streaming video experience to life on the TV screen,” Anthony Noto, chief financial officer at Twitter, said in a statement. “Twitter has always been a great complement to TV, and now fans can enjoy even more premium video with live Tweets — and the best content on Twitter — right from their TVs."

While the streams will be available on twitter.com and the Twitter mobile app, the television connection provides potentially more eyes as well as a better viewing experience. A larger screen can help ease the concerns of advertisers who are not as comfortable with mobile.

What it will look like

This isn't Twitter's first TV app. Twitter's Periscope launched an app for Apple TV last year. But it's the first time for Twitter that the company is showing off the core experience of Twitter, viewing tweets, along with live-streaming video.

In all the apps, people can choose to see video and tweets side by side. The tweets are pulled from any user based on relevancy of the content. There are no separate streams of tweets available for verified accounts or those that are directly affiliated with the game.

In addition to the tweets, Apple TV will have an exclusive feature that will test users' interest in accessing complimentary video while watching live events. While livestreaming, viewers will be able to select a video that appears on the stream of tweets. The video, whether it be a native Twitter video, a live video from Periscope or a Vine, will then play side by side with the live video stream of the game.

For those who aren't able to access the new apps, the experience is still available on Twitter. This week, the company created its own hub for the upcoming football games at tnf.twitter.com. Users can also find the stream within Moments, the lightning bolt tab on desktop and mobile. There is no separate Live icon, for now.

Marketing a game

The availability of a Twitter app for TV has been highly anticipated.The New York Times first reported in August that a deal between Apple and Twitter was in the works, but silence over the last month left Twitter users and shareholders frustrated.

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This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Finally, the announcement is here with much more than an Apple TV deal. Yet, the timing still disappointed some shareholders.

"It's great to see Twitter get in bed with giants like Amazon, Microsoft and Apple, however, they need to be more proactive in marketing themselves and new initiatives," said Carter Mansbach, president of Jupiter Wealth Strategies.

It's interesting to see Twitter's approach on paid versus earned media. The company landed itself a front page story on The New York Timeslast month with news of the NFL deal. This week, the executive team and their live video ambitions were shared in a feature on Fast Companythat will appear in the October magazine issue.

Twitter declined to share if they are running TV ads around the NFL games. After the launch of Moments, Twitter ran its first TV ad during the World Series and continued to run campaigns in the fall. The NFL has promoted Twitter alongside CBS and the NFL Network in its own ads for this week's game, however.