In a joint announcement released at the end of April, Disney (NYSE: DIS) said it is going to create advertisements and live shows exclusively for Twitter (NYSE: TWTR).
And Disney's not the only one - Viacom, NBCUniversal (NASDAQ: CMCSA), Fox Sports (NASDAQ: FOXA), and others will also be generating original content for the social media platform. In sum, Twitter has formed 30 new partnerships, which it announced at its annual NewFront presentation for potential video advertisers.
This is exciting for Twitter, which reported in an earnings call in April that more than half of its advertising revenue comes from the video format. The number of video views per day on Twitter has doubled over the past year, and 82% of users engage with brands on the platform. Twitter is trying to make the most of this trend, hoping that more premium programming will draw more audiences and more advertising clients.
"People on our service tell us directly what they want to see through conversations on Twitter," said Kay Madati, Twitter's head of content, at the NewFront event.
According to eMarketer, advertisers spent $13 billion on digital video in 2017. Twitter's attempts to cultivate original content directly with online influencers may pull advertisers away from competitor Youtube (NASDAQ: GOOGL) and even television advertisers. According to Zenith, an advertising measurement company, video ad spending is expected to rise 19% in 2018, or to $32 billion.
In addition to content crafted specifically for Twitter, the social media platform will now also live broadcast events like MTV and BET award shows. It will also create content that ties into sporting events, such as a highlights program for the 2018 World Cup and a live show to accompany the NBA Finals. Twitter is also launching a division called Live Brand Studio that will help marketers craft live content.
Twitter is also going to have Niche, its so-called "creator network," work with online influencers to create scripted content, called "Creator Originals."
Twitter shares spiked more than 4.5% at the news and have remained high since, up 12.3% since its last earnings report. Twitter also recently posted its first profit since going public more than four years ago. This is excellent news for the company, which has been plagued by concerns about its ability to rebrand and grow. CEO Jack Dorsey told analysts in a conference call, "We're seeing healthy signs that are pointing us in the right direction."