After a long waiting period, the NFL announced that Twitter has won the rights to live-stream 10 of the 16 games in the NFL’s Thursday Night Football package.

A few key details:

• The stream will be available on mobile, tablets, desktop, and connected TVs.
• Twitter will be rebroadcasting the CBS, NBC or NFL Network feed of the game. Cristopher Heine at Ad Week reports that Twitter viewers will see roughly 20 more ads than those watching the traditional broadcast, giving Twitter control over 30 percent of the ads seen on their stream.
• Twitter beat out Amazon and Yahoo, and outlasted Facebook, which pulled itself out of the running late in the process (more on that later).
• Twitter was not the highest bidder, and according to re/Code, paid less than $10M for the package, a minuscule amount compared to other rights deals.

This last note is somewhat surprising news, considering the NFL’s history of ignoring all factors aside from money when making large-scale decisions (think: Thursday Night Football, European expansion). But in this deal, the NFL should be commended for choosing a partner that fits its long-term growth strategy better than its short-term pocketbook.

Here’s why:

• In order for live-streaming on a digital platform to have any impact in the fragmented media landscape, it needs to create a totally unique viewer experience. If Amazon or Yahoo offer simple re-broadcasts of the games on their websites, what incentive do viewers have to tune into Amazon/Yahoo instead of CBS/NBC?
• Twitter is already the most popular source for “second-screen” content while watching sporting events of all kinds. By creating a new “Stream + Social” experience, Twitter offers something much more valuable than what Amazon, Yahoo and even Facebook can: the opportunity to revolutionize the viewer experience, on a scale similar to that of the RedZone channel in the early 2000s. Can you imagine watching RedZone on 2/3’s of your screen, and having a rolling Twitter feed on the other 1/3? Drool.
• Twitter’s relatively small user base made it easier for the NFL to take this deal without upsetting long-standing relationships with broadcast partners NBC, CBS, ESPN and FOX. The NFL knows where its bread is already buttered.
• NFL and Twitter have a successful history of early-adoption initiatives like this related to sports. (see: Twitter Amplify and Twitter Moments). Twitter is already executing this new streaming operation with multiple different sports leagues (the NFL included) using instant-replay highlights. Now they’ll give us the content a few seconds earlier, LIVE!

But are advertisers buying the hype? In short, yes.

Once again, from AdWeek:

“The NFL got it right,” Paskalis said. “Twitter gives us a real path to connect around relevant cultural moments in a way that other advertisements do not.”

Kyle Bunch, head of social at agency R/GA, added, “The prospect of the NFL on Twitter is exciting because it has the potential to make brand communications immediately actionable — be it a share, a comment, or even a purchase, all without leaving the video and conversation stream — for one of the largest, live viewing audiences worldwide.”

So Who are the Winners and Losers?

Winners — Twitter, NFL

• Jack Dorsey finally figured out how to monetize Twitter. Maybe not immediately this year, but when the next primary rights deals come up to bid, you can bet Twitter will make a big push to get a higher percentage…and the massive ad revenue that comes with it.
• They got it for a great price. Compared to Yahoo’s $20M paid last year for a single game, it’s a bargain price for the chance to transform the largest sports viewing experience in the country. Furthermore, they gain expertise they can sell to the NBA, MLB and EPL.
• After a year of stagnating user growth, and even worse stock performance, this might be a bigger win for Twitter’s PR than for its financials. Expect to see a lot of coverage and ads as we get closer to the fall.

Losers — Yahoo and Facebook, NFL stadiums

• Facebook backed out shortly before the announcement, reportedly because their model for gathering ad revenue on live-streams was “underwhelming” compared to its competitors. It’s strange to see Facebook outpaced technically, especially by Twitter, and you have to imagine that will become a top priority moving forward.
• Yahoo has to feel like they got left at the altar here. After partnering to stream a game in London last year, they had to feel like they had the inside track in this bidding war. It seems like they just didn’t bring enough of a unique viewing experience to the table.
• NFL stadium vendors and parking lot owners. Assuming Twitter gets this viewer experience right, remind me again why you would want to actually go to a live football game?

Whether this partnership succeeds or fails, this will be viewed as a distinguishing moment in the timeline of digital sports rights. In an industry landscape changing as rapidly as digital media, it’s impossible to predict the future. But there is plenty of reason to believe that the NFL and Twitter have both made a brilliant strategic move that will benefit both individual companies, while propelling forward the industry as a whole.