Twitter announced on Wednesday a live streaming deal with the Victoria Racing Club that will make the Emirates Melbourne Cup on Nov. 1 the first such deal announced outside of the United States.
One of Australia’s most prestigious Thoroughbred horse races, the Emirates Melbourne Cup will be the event that Twitter will use to attract a global audience to not only watch the race, but potentially sign up to use the social media site.
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As with other Twitter broadcasts, logged-out users can watch them for free, but the company hopes to be the destination for all things live and attract more new users to create accounts.
“Twitter is where the world of sport is happening every single day, and Australian sporting events don’t come more iconic than the Emirates Melbourne Cup,” Jonathan Harley, Twitter Australia’s Director of Media Partnerships, said in a statement. “Live streaming the race that stops a nation with the VRC and the Seven Network, combined with the live commentary and conversation on Twitter, will create a one-screen experience at the centre of the action unlike any other.”
The hour-long race broadcast will also include pre- and post-race analysis.
“By leveraging the power of Twitter’s enormous real-time platform for reaction, commentary, analysis, and more, this partnership will provide viewers the opportunity to watch the Seven Network’s exceptional production and interact with the action on and off the track as it happens live on smartphones, tablets and computers,” VRC Executive General Manager of Commercial Operations Nick Addison said in a statement.
Twitter had previously tested its streaming platform by streaming Wimbledon coverage, but no live matches were shown.