With sagging user and modest commerce growth dominating the discussion surrounding Twitter, reports are saying that the social network and Yahoo! have discussed a potential merger.
Analysts didn’t think too positively of the potential fit between the two, which may have been floated to test the waters of shareholders who are currently anxious with the future of twitter at the moment.
A Twitter-Yahoo merger? Uh, no. Bad idea for both. Why not toss in Nintendo and make it a Troubled Trifecta?
— Don Reisinger (@donreisinger) June 3, 2016
Despite the initial negativity, synergies between the two companies exist, and it’s possible Twitter wants to leverage Yahoo’s team members who successfully launched the National Football League’s first live stream last fall. Twitter and the NFL announced a streaming partnership, led by CFO Anthony Noto, formerly of the NFL, this past April.
The NY Post also reported that Twitter could have just been using Yahoo for information, which seems easy to dismiss considering the bidding process that Yahoo! is currently in in the midst of with companies like AT&T, Quicken Loans founder and Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, as well as private equity firms.
Nathan Hubbard, who announced that he’ll be stepping down as head of media and commerce at Twitter, addressed the company’s “Buy Button” situation in an extensive rant on Twitter yesterday attempting to shoot down the idea that revenues generated through commerce have been ineffective. Instead, Hubbard took the route of explaining the functionality is merely in the early stages and to expect a bigger build out moving forward.
23) "Buy Buttons" for some products/services will be a natural evolution of direct response ads and will increase conversion and engagement.
— Nathan Hubbard (@NathanCHubbard) June 2, 2016
24) But most interesting is whether they can leverage the platforms they appear on to enhance the experience vs normal in-app transactions.
— Nathan Hubbard (@NathanCHubbard) June 2, 2016
25) Industry is just in the *first* phases of parsing product/market fit for the Buy Button concept across products, services and platforms.
— Nathan Hubbard (@NathanCHubbard) June 2, 2016
With the departure of Hubbard and other high-level team members, signs are pointing to Twitter making a significant deal to fully focus product on live events. They need to do something with Snapchat lapping them in daily usage. A merger with Yahoo! does make some sense when it comes to Twitter’s lack of user growth and getting the most out of a prized asset they hope can change the way viewers consume live, appointment-setting professional sports content.