Twitter will begin to live stream NHL games this coming season. The social media platform will broadcast one out-of-market NHL and MLB game per week, the partners announced Monday.
The landmark deal, which follows in the footsteps of a similar deal between Twitter and the NFL, will have a select number of NHL games that are not nationally televised streamed free of charge in conjunction with the MLB Advanced Media (MLBAM) platform and Twitter, whether a user is logged in or not. Since Rogers and other broadcasters including Bell own the NHL’s television and streaming rights in Canada, the weekly stream will be limited to Twitter users in the United States.
Twitter announces live streaming partnership for @NHL & @MLB games and nightly highlights program from @120Sports. https://t.co/kE8hBe87M3
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) July 25, 2016
Canadians can still look forward to one streaming MLB game per week through Twitter, though they will be unable to view Toronto Blue Jays games since they will be blacked out. Rogers also owns the rights to those games.
The deal marks a major step in Twitter’s goal of becoming a go-to platform for live sporting events. It also presents a great opportunity for the growth of the game of hockey and the NHL, as individuals that may not normally tune into a broadcast are getting exposure to the game through Twitter.
The schedule of live stream NHL and MLB games will be released at a later date.