AdWeek is citing unnamed sources with a report that Twitter is talking with Hollywood producers and network execs about launching original, in-stream video shows on Twitter itself. The first effort — described as a MTV-like reality show — could launch by the end of the year. Explains AdWeek:
“The show could live on a standalone Twitter page similar to the events page that Twitter launched in partnership with Nascar in June, although the series’ page would more closely resemble a microsite in order to feature an expanded video player. Another possibility is that the series would be distributed within tweets – promoted, organic or pinned to a brand’s Twitter page – with users clicking to expand the tweet into a full-fledged video player.”
In other words, TV’s biggest second-screen player may soon become the first-screen as well.
If this sounds improbable, consider what Twitter CEO Dick Costolo told the WSJ earlier this week. He said Twitter wants to move away from companies that “build off of Twitter, to a world where people build into Twitter.” That sounds like a much bigger statement than just adding a curation layer (NASCAR and the Olympics deal are the first two) to Twitter.com.
At the foundation of all of these media-like moves is advertising. To make money with ads, you need to drive engagement primarily through audience scale. “Right now, they are leaving money on the table,” a source told AdWeek, explaining that Twitter is sold out of its core ad units, like Promoted Tweets. And its tentative plan for the original series is sponsorships in the $4 million zone — assuming it can attract an audience. Says Costolo in the WSJ story, “We need to narrow the gap between awareness of Twitter and engagement of Twitter” to bring new people in the door.
But how would this shift into content fly among Twitter’s most treasured TV partners — and more important, its users? “I think moving in that direction – while it could produce some ad revenue for Twitter – might be a critical mistake,” writes Gigaom’s Mathew Ingram. “I think Twitter’s increasing attempts to control more of the content on the network could be fundamentally at odds with its value proposition for many users.”
What do you think? Smart (or inevitable) move for Twitter?