Twitter,
Comcast sign TV partnership to let customers access TV shows from a tweet
Twitter
and Comcast have signed a partnership that will let viewers access TV shows and
buy movie tickets directly from a tweet, deepening the short messaging
service’s ties to television programming.
Twitter
Inc. and Comcast Corp. said Wednesday that a new feature that’s part of the
deal will let customers of Comcast’s Xfinify TV service tune in to programs by
clicking a “see it” button in a tweet. In a statement, Comcast CEO Brian
Roberts called it “an instant online remote control.”
The
button will allow Twitter users who are also Comcast customers to set DVRs,
tune in to shows online, on TV or on mobile devices. They can also buy movie
tickets through Fandango. In the current TV season, shows on NBC, USA, Bravo,
MSNBC and other networks will be accessible through the “see it” button.
Comcast and Twitter said they are in talks with other TV networks and companies
that will use the feature in the “coming months.”
Twitter’s
deal with the nation’s largest cable company comes as the company prepares for
an initial public offering of stock, which could occur as soon as next month.
The agreement is more expansive than the advertising partnerships Twitter has
signed recently with TV content providers such as CBS and the NFL. But it does
have an advertising component, which adds NBCUniversal’s properties to
Twitter’s Amplify program.
Amplify
lets TV content owners beam real-time video clips to Twitter users who may have
seen —or could be interested in — their programming. It also allows marketers
to communicate with viewers who saw their TV ads, extending commercial pitches
to consumers’ smartphones and tablets.
“Twitter
is where television viewers come to talk about what they’re watching on TV when
they’re watching it. Millions of users are exposed to the live conversation
that unfolds on Twitter while a show is on the air and now, with See It,
they’ll be able to tune in directly from a Tweet,” said Dick Costolo, Twitter’s
CEO, in a statement.
From washingtonpost
Our partnership with @Comcast and @NBCUniversal lets users tune in to a TV show directly from a Tweet: https://t.co/vOWzAK43Rs
— Twitter (@twitter) October 9, 2013
