The National Football League says it has chosen Twitter as its exclusive global partner for streaming its Thursday night games during the 2016 regular season.
Twitter Inc, whose shares were up about one per cent in early trading, will stream 10 games for free, the NFL said in a statement.
The deal also includes in-game highlights as well as pre-game broadcasts from players and teams on Periscope, Twitter's live-streaming video service.
Twitter outbid a number of companies, including Verizon Communications, Yahoo Inc and Amazon.com to win the deal, according to Bloomberg, which first reported the news.
Facebook dropped out of the bidding last week, the report said.
The terms of the deal were not announced, but technology news website Re/code, citing people familiar with the bidding process, reported that Twitter had paid less than $US10 million.
The NFL signed a multiyear partnership with Twitter last year to deliver video and other content to fans on a daily basis.
The previous partnership, which expanded the NFL's existing partnership with Twitter, included in-game highlights from pre-season through Super Bowl 50.
Anthony Noto, Twitter's current chief financial officer, also held the same position at the NFL between 2008 and 2010.
Up to Monday's close of $US17.09, Twitter's shares had fallen 26 per cent this year.
The company's shares hit an all-time low in February after the company said its user growth stalled for the first time since it went public in 2013.
Reuters
