NEW YORK – Twitter will stream a live special from BuzzFeed's New York City offices on November 8, the date of the U.S. presidential election.
The live stream, which will be available in Canada, will begin at 6:00 PM EST and include advertising packages with TV style mid-roll ad spots combined with original clips produced by BuzzFeed that advertisers can sponsor and promote on Twitter. BuzzFeed will work with Decision Desk HQ on definitive calls for the night, providing an alternative to the television networks' reliance on a single set of data, reads the news release. Bruce Perlmutter will serve as executive producer of the special.
"Twitter is at the center of the presidential race, and has become the fastest and most dynamic way for candidates, journalists and voters to break news, share thoughts, and see what's happening in politics right now," said Twitter CFO Anthony Noto, in the release. "Our partnership with BuzzFeed News will give voters – especially our younger audience – a smart, fresh broadcast with live breaking news and election analysis right on Twitter."
"Our fast, smart, and honest political coverage has helped define this presidential campaign and we are thrilled to be finishing by going live both from our headquarters and from inside the platform that is the beating heart of American politics," added BuzzFeed editor-in-chief Ben Smith. "At a time when so much political coverage amounts to reading Tweets aloud, we're excited to add original reporting and analysis inside Twitter."
Twitter added that its live stream of the second presidential debate broadcast on Sunday, October 9 reached 3.2 million unique viewers, an increase of 30% over the first presidential debate. The debate also became the most Tweeted ever, with more than 17 million debate-related Tweets sent.
