Twitter Announces Live Streaming Partnership for MLB Games, NHL Games and Nightly Highlights Program from 120 Sports

SAN FRANCISCO, July 25, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Twitter today announced it will live stream weekly out-of-market games from Major League Baseball (MLB) and the National Hockey League (NHL). 120 Sports, the OTT network, will also produce an exclusive, nightly multi-sports highlights show called 'The Rally', the first show of its kind to be streamed live on Twitter. The MLB, NHL, and 120 Sports streaming rights come through Twitter's new partnership with MLBAM.

"Twitter is the fastest way to see what's unfolding in MLB and the NHL," said Anthony Noto, Twitter's chief financial officer. "MLBAM has pioneered streaming live digital video and we could not be more excited to partner with them on live games as well as 'The Rally', giving our audience the live sports events they are already talking about on one screen on Twitter."

"Twitter has long been a great partner and platform for both baseball and hockey fans as they follow their favorite teams and players every day," said Kenny Gersh, MLBAM's executive vice president, business. "We know fans will embrace what this wide-ranging partnership brings – expanded and reliable access to live baseball and hockey and the introduction of Twitter's first daily live highlight show delivered intuitively to a platform where they're actively engaged with the games."

"Twitter has become a crucial forum and engagement tool for hockey fans to enhance their NHL viewing experience and stay connected to the game on and off the ice," said Stephen McArdle, NHL executive vice president of digital media and strategic planning.  "We are excited that fans will now be able to enjoy live NHL games through our partnership with Twitter."

The once-per-week live streams of out-of-market MLB and NHL games will be available free to logged-in and logged-out Twitter users in the United States. MLB games also will be available worldwide, except in select international territories. A schedule for the MLB and NHL games will be available at a later date.

Twitter also will live stream 'The Rally', a nightly program produced by 120 Sports that will include highlights and expert perspective across multiple sports exclusively to Twitter users in the United States. 'The Rally' will utilize a distinct format designed to integrate with Twitter's platform, using Twitter-based data to determine live trending topics as well as adding other interactive elements for instant conversation and analysis of the moments that matter most to sports fans – covering professional to college to action to Olympic sports and more.

"'The Rally'" on Twitter will combine the production and editorial values of television with the speed and interactivity of digital media," said Jason Coyle, 120 Sports president. "We are excited to bring this first-of-its-kind programming to Twitter as we continue the push of 120 Sports beyond the limitations of traditional media, infusing real-time, scaled fan sentiment and feedback into the sports conversation every night."

About Twitter, Inc

Twitter, Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) is an iconic service and global platform for self-expression and live conversation. Twitter has always been the best place to see what's happening now. Whether it's breaking news, entertainment, sports, or everyday topics, only Twitter lets you connect with people anywhere in the world with live conversation. Anything that happens, you see it first on Twitter. By developing a fundamentally new way for people to consume, create, distribute and discover content, Twitter enables any voice to echo around the world instantly and unfiltered. Twitter is available in more than 40 languages around the world. The service can be accessed at Twitter.com, on a variety of mobile devices and via SMS. For more information, visit about.twitter.com or follow @twitter.

About MLBAM

Established in June 2000 following a unanimous vote by the 30 Major League Baseball club owners to centralize all of Baseball's Internet operations, MLB Advanced Media LP (MLBAM) is the interactive media and internet company of Major League Baseball. MLBAM manages the official league site, MLB.com, and each of the 30 individual Club sites to create the most comprehensive Major League Baseball resource on the Internet. MLBAM also develops, deploys and distributes the highest-grossing sports app, At Bat, and #1 live sports streaming service, MLB.TV, as well as manages live video content for dozens of sports, news and entertainment clients. It captures, encodes and distributes tens of thousands of live video events annually, powering more live events on the Internet than any other property in the world.

About The NHL

The National Hockey League (NHL®), founded in 1917, consists of 30 Member Clubs, with players from more than 20 countries represented across team rosters, competing for the most revered trophy in professional sports – the Stanley Cup®. Each year, the NHL entertains hundreds of millions of fans around the world. The League broadcasts games in more than 160 countries and territories through its rightsholders including NBC/NBCSN in the U.S., Sportsnet and TVA in Canada, and Viasat in the Nordic Region. The NHL reaches fans worldwide with games available online in every country including via its live and on-demand streaming service NHL.TV™. Fans are engaged across the League's digital assets on mobile devices via the free NHL app; across nine social media platforms; on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio™, and on NHL.com, available in eight languages and featuring an enhanced statistics platform powered by SAP, providing the definitive destination for hockey analytics. A historic media rights partnership between the NHL and MLBAM has transformed the fan experience across the League's digital and broadcast assets, with an emphasis on deeper access into the game and enhanced storytelling. To celebrate the NHL's international diversity, the World Cup of Hockey will return in September 2016, a best-on-best international tournament featuring eight teams comprised of the world's best hockey players. In 2017, the League will celebrate its Centennial anniversary, commemorating 100 years of NHL hockey. The NHL is committed to giving back to the community through programs including: Hockey is for Everyone™ which supports nonprofit youth hockey organizations across North America; Hockey Fights Cancer™ which raises money and awareness for hockey's most important fight; NHL Green™ which is committed to the pursuit of sustainable business practices; and a partnership with the You Can Play Project, which is committed to supporting the LGBT community and fighting homophobia in sports. For more information, visit NHL.com.

About 120 Sports

120 Sports, America's Over-the-Top Sports Network, is the ultimate source for multi-sport highlights, live-looks-ins, interviews, analysis, and commentary, integrated with real-time social conversation and trending sports topics. Available to both cord cutters and television enthusiasts alike, 120 Sports operates 365 days a year, offering 53 hours of live or original content and over 750 on-demand video clips each week. Equity partners in 120 Sports include Time Inc. / Sports Illustrated, MLB Advanced Media, the National Hockey League, the PGA TOUR, Campus Insiders, and Silver Chalice. For more information, visit 120Sports.com or download the app in the iTunes App Store or on Google Play.

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