Twitter clinches major deal to stream NFL games live
Twitter has won a deal to broadcast Thursday night NFL (National Football League) games across the globe via its social platform, after winning against rival bidders including Verizon, Yahoo and Amazon.
The news marks a significant win for Twitter, which has been disappointing analysts with lacklustre financial performance due largely to its inability to attract new users.
By broadcasting American football games to the world for free, it is likely to attract new users in their droves. Last year, NFL ran a live streaming trial of a regular game with Yahoo.
This latest agreement will see Twitter stream live video of 10 games on Thursdays to its 800m users.
The news is also a warning to more traditional media owners. TV viewers will still be able watch games via other partners, including Sky in the UK, which signed a five-year deal with NFL last year.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell described the social network as "where live events unfold" and as "the right partner for the NFL".
Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s CEO, said: "People watch NFL games with Twitter today," said Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. "Now they'll be able to watch right on Twitter Thursday nights."
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WhatsApp fights to protect privacy from 'oppressive regimes' with end-to-end encryption
Facebook-owned instant messaging app WhatsApp announced it is encrypting all users’ messages, meaning they cannot be intercepted and read by law enforcement agencies or criminals.
End-to-end encryption means that a sender’s message is scrambled as soon as it leaves their device, and can only be unscrambled by the recipient's phone.
WhatsApp said that file transfers, such as photographs, and voice calls would also be encrypted.
The move is a finger up at governments such as the UK’s, which are becoming increasingly draconian in their efforts to spy on the electorate. WhatsApp described the move to protect private communication as one of its "core beliefs".
It added: "The idea is simple: when you send a message, the only person who can read it is the person or group chat that you send that message to. No one can see inside that message. Not cybercriminals. Not hackers. Not oppressive regimes. Not even us."
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BrewDog buys 33% stake in indie coffee firm Third Wave
Scottish brewer BrewDog has bought a 33% stake in Edinburgh-based indie coffee company Third Wave Coffee and will offer the drink in its 29 bars across the UK.
The self-proclaimed ‘punk’ brewer has bought the share of the coffee company in an attempt to drive more business to its outlets during daylight hours; although it already sells third-party coffee in its bars.
Third Wave positions its coffee as an antidote to that provided by corporate players such as Starbucks and Costa.
The acquisition was revealed in BrewDog’s latest financial figures, which showed that pre-tax profit fell from £3.65m to £3.5m last year, while revenue was up 51% to £44.7m.
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At a time when parenting is endlessly interrupted by digital communication and social media, brands must beware of exacerbating the pressure on women, writes Nicola Kemp.
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