Twitter’s experimentation with streaming NFL games has been met with largely rave reviews during Thursday night’s game.
It’s the first of 10 Thursday Night Football games that Twitter will be streaming this season.
The endeavor seems to be paying off for the little blue bird.
Twitter’s game stream has been free of major glitches, and the quality seems to rival HD even on bigger screens. It’s also very easy to find the stream — it’s the first item in the Moments section of the Twitter app.
Most users praised the service and shared their excitement over the new way to watch games.
Others suggested Twitter stream more live sporting events.
“Honestly, watching football on Twitter just means Twitter is the only thing I need in my life,” said Twitter user @_Levantine.
Several people used Twitter’s success to make jabs at other streaming services, implying that they could be glitchy or slow.
“ESPN could learn a thing or two from Twitter. This stream is on point,” said Twitter user @Shavertz.
One user suggested a way to tailor the game streaming service.
“The game streaming and functionality is cool. They should make it so you can switch to just see tweets from your team…” said Twitter user @MattFink86.
As play continued, some noticed that there were delays between their Twitter stream and what was being broadcast on TV.
“Streaming service is a great idea… but it’s a bit behind my TV, and took a min to load, but the ads loaded just fine, lol,” said Twitter user @jessebickers.
Overall the reception was very positive. One viewer even said he hoped the success helped Twitter’s stock price go up.
It’s not year clear how many viewers tuned into the stream, but it’s unlikely the number will rival those who watched the game on TV. One user, though, poked fun at the fact that he was watching the game on his phone instead of the TV he was sitting in front of.
Twitter’s Thursday Night Football stream can be watched in any country where Twitter operates, except Canada because it has a separate TV rights contract with the NFL.
The live stream on Twitter will show CBS’s broadcast for the first five games and will play alongside selected tweets about the action.
CBS has the rights to air the first five Thursday Night Football games, and NBC will broadcast the remaining five.
Twitter, which is paying millions for each game, will also provide viewers with special sideline coverage before and after the game on its live video app, Periscope.
The NFL struck a deal with Twitter in April to live stream the games.
The deal is a sign that the NFL is keeping up with the times by ensuring that games are available across multiple platforms.