Daily Times

It’s no secret that Facebook has brought ruthless competition for video on demand and streaming platforms like YouTube and is investing heavily in video. But now, there’s another player in sight. Yes, Twitter is becoming more about the good ol’ video, as it reported the views of its video content have doubled over the year. Not to mention, the company’s previous announcement that video content earns them half of the total advertising revenue. Capitalising on that, the tech giant is bringing more original content to the platform to emerge as another fierce competitor for both Facebook and YouTube.

The company announced its more than 30 new partnerships in its annual ‘NewFront’ presentation of video content for advertisers. NBCUniversal, Disney and Viacom are some of the companies that will be making original video content for Twitter. The new video content coming on Twitter will include:

* Live programming, clips from existing shows as well as original shows from the NBCUniversal’s outlets NBC, NBC News, MSNBC, CNBC, Telemundo, TODAY and E! News.

* Live and Twitter-exclusive video programming from Disney’s ESPN, ABC, Disney Channel, Freeform, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Radio Disney and Marvel. The new shows will also include a bespoke version of the ‘SportsCenter Live’ to feature breaking sports news and a version of daily podcast ‘Fantasy Focus Live’.

* Live event coverage programming from MTV and BET award shows as well as other shows from the same networks.

* Hearst’s Delish to have a new show about different food holidays in the United States and a live news show from Seventeen.

* The producer of ‘Girls Trip’, ‘Ride Along’ and ‘Straight Out of Compton’, will broadcast a 30-minute weekly show dubbed ‘Power Star Live’ and feature discussion on social issues and topics highlighted by the #BlackTwitter movement.

* FOX will also launch original sports programming

Not just the entertainment giants, but the digital giants will have their share of original programming on the platform. These include Ellen Digital Studios’ CELEBrate, BuzzFeed News’ ‘AM to DM’, ‘The New Space Race’ from Vice News, #HereWeAre from Huffington Post and more.

Twitter also announced to launch ‘Creator Originals’, which is powered by its division called ‘Niche’ to help influencers create scripted series for Twitter. The new programme will include a Live Brand Studio to help marketers create live content.

The video streaming products from Twitter and competitors like Facebook and YouTube have already paralysed traditional dedicated live streaming services. But YouTube is taking a hit too. With the added ‘social’ factor, Facebook and Twitter seem to have an upper hand on YouTube, and as Google fails to get the ‘social’ right, YouTube for now will have to think beyond its commenting-only social phenomenon.

The digital platforms also mean hope for Pakistani creators as well. We have seen legendry artists like Sajjad Ali releasing new songs and videos exclusively on YouTube as opposed to the traditional mediums. Pakistani drama series finding a paid outlet in streaming services like Netflix and iFlix is another example, but we’re far behind where the rest of the world is looking at right now.

The writer is the Digital Editor, Daily Times and can be reached at me@farhanjanjua.com. He tweets and instagrams @FarhanJanjua

Published in Daily Times, May 3^rd 2018.