The NBA will double the amount of material it supplies to Twitter and its subsidiary outlets Vine and Periscope after renewing its content partnership with the social media outlet. Live games are not part of the newly expanded deal, but the pact will create a weekly NBA pregame show that will be accessible only on Twitter to both logged-in and logged-out users, along with another to-be-determined exclusive show that will be announced prior to the start of the ’16-17 regular season. The NBA will also expand its use of Twitter’s Amplify ad program, and continue initiatives such as its #NBARapidReplay highlights and #PhantomCam player arrivals. In the league’s seven-year relationship with Twitter, it has amassed more than 22 million followers to official @NBA feed and 2 billion loops on Vine. While Twitter continues to struggle on Wall Street amid widespread questions regarding its long-term strategy and ability to grow users and revenue, the NBA extension represents another in a series of recent sports-related deals, including a recent pact with the NFL to stream "Thursday Night Football" games live. “We’ve seen technology bring fans closer to our game, teams and players in ways we could have only imagined a decade ago. This expanded partnership will help feed our fans’ growing demand for the NBA by more deeply integrating the league across Twitter’s many platforms," said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver in a statement. Financial terms were not disclosed. Various groups of people were involved in negotiating the deal on both sides -- including distribution, legal and sales execs -- before being approved by Silver and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.
