Bloomberg has reported that Snap (NYSE:$SNAP), Facebook (NASDAQ:$FB), and Twitter (NYSE:$TWTR) are all bidding for the online video highlight rights for the 2018 World Cup. While these aren’t the streaming rights for the games – Fox Sports won’t be giving that up – these big-name tech companies could potentially obtain the rights to play the highlight clips from the games.
Breaking into the World of Online Sports Video Content
No plans have been finalized, which means that it is still possible that the rights could be spread across all three companies, or none at all. It’s not a surprise that these companies’ are looking to grab the highlight video rights as all three are in the midst of expanding their online sports video content.
Twitter, for example, has signed deals with Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League, and the National Football League in order to stream live games on its network. Additionally, Facebook has made a deal with the Champions League to stream games. Last but not least, Snap had highlights of the 2016 Olympics and NFL clips on its Snapchat app. Not only that, but Snap has signed a deal with NBCUniversal to have content from next year’s Winter Olympics on its app.
Currently, the merge into sports content seems to be producing promising results for the companies. For instance, about 35 million Snapchat users in the United States watched sections of the Olympics last year through the app, totaling to 230 million minutes.
Who Will Benefit the Most?
In 2017, social video ad sales are thought to hit $4 billion. This is double the amount from last year. Of course, not all of that growth will stem from selling ads around sports content, but social media companies are hoping that their platforms will appeal to advertisers who want to obtain more views.
As of right now, Snap seems to be the company that will receive the most benefit from a 2018 World Cup highlight video deal. Why? Because A) the platform is perfect for quick and easy-to-digest video clips, and B) more than half of millennial smartphone users own and use Snap’s Snapchat app. Together, the combination of the platform and the age of its users is what makes Snap Inc. the best fit for this deal.
Featured Image: twitter
