Twitter to live stream the Melbourne Cup worldwide

Twitter has partnered with the Victorian Racing Club (VRC) to live stream the 2016 Melbourne Cup to a global audience in what is the first live streaming deal for Twitter outside the USA.

A one hour broadcast from 2.30pm to 3.30pm will be available online via Twitter to both signed in and visiting users, on their website, app and Apple TV app.

With the race itself at 3pm, there will be a pre and post-race coverage which is being produced by the VRC by the Seven Network.

It’s an interesting move for the Seven Network, who last year used their own live streaming services to deliver the audience to record numbers – we’re unsure yet if Seven will continue to offer their own stream in parallel.

Jonathan Harley, Twitter Australia’s Director of Media Partnerships, said: “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. 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.”

Nick Addison, VRC Executive General Manager of Commercial Operations, said: “We are thrilled to enter into this partnership with Twitter to stream the Emirates Melbourne Cup to a worldwide audience, becoming the first professional sporting event in Australia to be live streamed on the social networking platform. The Emirates Melbourne Cup is one of the hotly anticipated events on the global racing calendar. 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 Seven Network’s exceptional production and interact with the action on and off the track as it happens live on smartphones, tablets and computers.”