Twitter users actually do want to engage with video content. That’s according to Kay Madati, Vice President and Global Head of Partnerships at the social network, who says the company is doubling down on the strategy.
“At the core of it, people actually do come to the platform and consume content and stick around,” Madati told Cheddar in an interview at SXSW.
Last week, Twitter announced an exclusive partnership with Major League Soccer, including live-streaming some matches on the platform. And just last quarter, it streamed over 1,100 live events.
“We’ll probably actually scale that number even further in Q1 of this year,” said Madati.
Twitter’s commitment to video extends to its media partnerships. Madati, who was BET’s Chief Digital Officer before assuming this role at Twitter, told Cheddar he’s seen how partnerships work for the social network from the other side of the equation and brings that experience to his new role.
Instead of disrupting the consumer’s relationship with the media organization, Twitter “is here to actually...show you that we have additive audiences on our platform who very well may not be watching you on other platforms.”
“Twitter fundamentally seeks to be an extension of our partners’ reach,” said Madati. “We care just as much about our partners’ business models...as we do [about] what that content then means on our platform.”
Rival Facebook took a major gamble on live videos a couple years ago, paying publishers to create quality content on the platform. Then last year, it started scaling back funding for those publishers and shifted its strategy.
Now, Twitter is hoping that by stepping into the void, it can get those publishers to create original content on its own platform and lure in more users.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/twitter-inks-3-year-streaming-deal-with-mls).
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
President Donald Trump's administration last month awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build and operate what's expected to become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex to a tiny Virginia firm with no experience running correction facilities.
Chipmaker Nvidia is poised to release a quarterly report that could provide a better sense of whether the stock market has been riding an overhyped artificial intelligence bubble or is being propelled by a technological boom that’s still gathering momentum.
Cracker Barrel said late Tuesday it’s returning to its old logo after critics — including President Donald Trump — protested the company’s plan to modernize.
Low-value imports are losing their duty-free status in the U.S. this week as part of President Donald Trump's agenda for making the nation less dependent on foreign goods. A widely used customs exemption for international shipments worth $800 or less is set to end starting on Friday. Trump already ended the “de minimis” rule for inexpensive items sent from China and Hong Kong, but having to pay import taxes on small parcels from everywhere else likely will be a big change for some small businesses and online shoppers. Purchases that previously entered the U.S. without needing to clear customs will be subject to the origin country’s tariff rate, which can range from 10% to 50%.
Southwest Airlines will soon require plus-size travelers to pay for an extra seat in advance if they can't fit within the armrests of one seat. This change is part of several updates the airline is making. The new rule starts on Jan. 27, the same day Southwest begins assigning seats. Currently, plus-size passengers can pay for an extra seat in advance and later get a refund, or request a free extra seat at the airport. Under the new policy, refunds are still possible but not guaranteed. Southwest said in a statement it is updating policies to prepare for assigned seating next year.
Cracker Barrel is sticking with its new logo. For now. But the chain is also apologizing to fans who were angered when the change was announced last week.
Elon Musk on Monday targeted Apple and OpenAI in an antitrust lawsuit alleging that the iPhone maker and the ChatGPT maker are teaming up to thwart competition in artificial intelligence.
