Fansided

Twitter live sports buffet has made the channel the real ‘ESPN The Ocho’

By Derek Helling

Apr 29, 2017; Detroit, MI, USA; Chicago White Sox relief pitcher David Robertson (30) reacts to defeating the Detroit Tigers in the tenth inning at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 29, 2017; Detroit, MI, USA; Chicago White Sox relief pitcher David Robertson (30) reacts to defeating the Detroit Tigers in the tenth inning at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /
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All Twitter needs now is Pepper and Cotton to complete its replication of the fictional sports cable network from the movie Dodgeball.

The buffet of live programming already includes plans for in-house produced NFL shows, NHL regular season games, WNBA regular season games, Wimbledon matches, and other sports-related video content that Twitter has announced it will produce. Twitter has now added Tuesday night MLB games and Conference USA college football games to the mix.

According to Harry Minium of the Virginian-Pilot, Twitter will broadcast 15 C-USA football games via STADIUM, one of the conference’s broadcast and streaming partners. The schedule is slated to be announced sometime next month.

That announcement was overshadowed by news that Twitter’s deal with MLB to stream games live which was announced last year but has yet to come to fruition. Maury Brown of Forbes reports that the first broadcast will be Friday’s contest between the Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays. After that, MLB will boast a “Twitter Tuesday,” as five more Tuesday night games are planned for Twitter streaming.

The games are:

  • May 30 – Boston Red Sox vs. Chicago White Sox
  • June 6 – Chicago Cubs vs. Miami Marlins
  • June 13 – Cleveland Indians vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
  • June 20 – Miami Marlins vs. Washington Nationals
  • June 27 – Chicago White Sox vs. New York Yankees

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While this deal gives MLB fans another night during which they can watch a live game for free on social media platforms, adding to MLB’s Facebook Fridays, there is one thing that fans should take note of. Unlike the Facebook broadcasts, the Twitter streams will be subject to MLB’s blackout rules. That means fans in the home television territories for the teams involved in each game won’t have access to the streams on Twitter.

As more time passes, it seems the amount and variety of live sports on Twitter is ever-expanding. It may be only a matter of time until dodgeball matches from Las Vegas are included.