Twitter Could Announce New Ad Capabilities This Week, Amid Speculation Of New TV Network Deals

Twitter is set to launch an update its ad platform, according to reports by AdNews and MarketingWeek. That news comes amid reports that Twitter is in talks with NBC and Viacom to stream TV clips and sell ads around the content.

AdNews, out of Australia, received word that Twitter’s announcement will unveil “a significant enhancement to [Twitter’s] advertising capabilities,” and points to the UK’s MarketingWeek report that suggests an analytics partnership could be part of the announcement.

MarketingWeek also refers to the launch of a new advertising “product,” rather than a platform enhancement, and says Twitter’s announcement will come later this week. One media buyer speculated to AdNews that Twitter could be moving toward ad exchanges, as Facebook has done.

The news of an update to the Twitters advertising capabilities comes amid a swirl of recent activity by the social network to dominate second screen usage and build out capabilities for attracting new revenue streams from video and social TV engagement.

Twitter has long sought relationships with TV networks and aimed to establish itself as the leading social TV platform for both networks and consumers. The company has existing partnerships with Walt Disney and Turner Broadcasting System, and it established the “Nielsen Twitter TV Rating” last December to measure social TV engagement.

In February Twitter acquired social TV analytics start-up, Bluefin Labs, which uses semantic technology to help advertisers and broadcasters monitor and evaluate conversations happening on Twitter about TV ads and shows. That data along with the launch of Twitter Ads API, also in February, give advertisers more information and flexibility in planning and executing Twitter ad campaigns tied to TV content.

For more see AdNews and MarketingWeek