Twitter makes massive sports content push with 9 new video partnerships

Twitter has unveiled nine new premium video sport contents deals at Sportel Asia, in addition to the live original programming, live games, highlights and events on the platform. The nine new sports partners include Asian Tour, Astro Malaysia, BallBall, Eleven Sports, FOX Sports Asia, International Table Tennis Federations, NetTV, SportsFix TV and TV ONE.Each of these partners will be able to utilise Twitter's In-stream Sponsorships which enables publisher partners to monetise and sponsor exclusive video content while reaching out to engage audiences, the press statement read. The video content shared on Twitter will also include a short pre-roll ad from content sponsors, in addition to a range of existing deals available to APAC advertisers. This looks to bring even more opportunities for advertisers in Asia Pacific to align their brand with premium sports video content.According to the press release, Aneesh Madani, head of sports partnership for Asia Pacific, Twitter, will be presenting the content offerings to conference attendees, as well as brand and agency partners at a special Twitter workshop held at Sportel Asia.“Twitter is the best destination for sports video content because it’s an extension of what fans already expect from our platform – the live sports conversation unfolding on Twitter. Digital video consumption in Asia Pacific is growing rapidly. Introducing these new in-stream video sponsorship deals for sports to advertisers in Asia Pacific will strengthen the success of our partners in the region, and give fans an easy way to keep up with the sports they care about most,” Mahani said.“Alongside our broadcast all 64 matches of the World Cup, Twitter will help amplify the most exciting moments from Astro’s coverage, and immerse fans in the ‘world game’ even further through expert analysis and fun, creative live and highlights video content from Russia,” Lee added.In January this year, iflix collaborated with Football Malaysia LLP (FMLLP) to livestream every Liga Super, Piala Malaysia, and marquee Piala FA matches exclusively for football fans in Malaysia on the new “Football Malaysia on iflix” channel. FMLLP is the operator and regulator of Malaysia’s professional football league and competitions.The module is a free one for 2018. In addition to live streamed matches, iflix subscribers will also be able to access new features including match highlights and player interviews.