Twitter Inc TWTR kicked the first of 10 "Thursday Night Football" live streams last week to many great reviews. It was a bright spot for a struggling company that desperately needed a boost.
Twitter dove into live streaming events head first, after securing upcoming NBA games, as well as MLB and NHL deals. Following the social media network's first NFL game featuring the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets, Twitter's stock jumped more than 3 percent on Friday.
On Monday, Twitter reversed those gains after more information materialized about the live stream. Twitter registered an averaged of 243,000 viewers per minute and 2.1 million viewers worldwide of the game. In comparison, CBS and NFL Network counted 15.4 million average viewers per minute.
While the numbers were significantly lower, Twitter's first NFL live stream launched with relatively little buzz or promotion, and these numbers should pick up as the successful launch spreads through more advertising and word of mouth. One analyst at CNBC suggested Twitter should launch television ads to promote its NFL streaming partnership.
Now that the numbers have been released, Twitter has a benchmark that investors can use to gauge the growth of its live streaming strategy. This week's game will feature the Houston Texans and the New England Patriots.
Twitter's stock fell 3.9 percent to $18.36 on Monday.
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.
