NBC and Twitter to Team Up on Limited Live Olympics Coverage

If you cannot find a television for big moments during next summer’s Olympic Games in Tokyo, Twitter just might have you covered.

NBCUniversal, the Olympics rights holder, and Twitter have signed an agreement to show limited live event coverage, highlights and a daily Olympics show on the social media platform. While the overwhelming majority of the thousands of hours of Olympic coverage in the United States will remain exclusive to NBC’s television channels and digital streaming platforms, the deal is the furthest the company has gone in letting some live video leave its ecosystem.

Each morning of the Olympics, fans will vote on which prime time live event or athlete they want to look in on — for about five minutes or less — that night on Twitter. It could be the final of the 100-meter dash, the floor routine of gymnast Simone Biles or something else. NBC will also produce a daily 20-minute studio show live from Tokyo for Twitter, and increase its production of highlights for the platform.

While other social media platforms often see a decrease in traffic during major sports events, Twitter can see a double-digit increase, according to the company, as fans tweet about the game they are watching. That makes it “an ideal platform for the massive social conversation that occurs during every Olympic Games,” Gary Zenkel, the president of NBC Olympics, said in a statement…[ read more ]