NBC, Twitter Announce Live Plans for Tokyo Olympics in 2020
NBC Universal and Twitter have signed an agreement to show limited live event coverage, highlights and a daily studio show on the social media platform at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, the network announced.
“Over the last four Games, we have worked with Twitter to fuel the Olympic conversation and connect fans and brands with the cultural moments that unite the nation and the world," NBC Olympics president Gary Zenkel said. "We are now taking that conversation to the next level by offering a daily 20-minute morning show live from Tokyo and opening a daily live window to peek into the NBC primetime broadcast.”
The New York Times's Kevin Draper first reported the partnership on Thursday morning.
According to Draper, fans will vote each morning on which prime time live event or athlete they want to be featured on Twitter. NBC will also produce a daily 20-minute studio show live from Tokyo and increase its production of highlights just for the platform. The majority of Olympic coverage will still remain exclusively on NBC's television channels and streaming services.
Twitter's double-digit traffic increase during sports events is the NBC Olympics president Gary Zenkel believes it is "an ideal platform for the massive social conversation that occurs during every Olympic Games," he said in a statement, per the Times.
According to the Times, the financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. NBC paid $4.38 billion for the right to four Games, including those in 2020.
The Tokyo Olympics are set to begin on July 24, 2020 and end on August 9.
