Twitter Reverses Course, Decides to Play Nicely with Facebook, TV Networks

Twitter has decided to get along with Facebook, after all.

At least when it comes to displaying posts on TV.

Twitter has backed off a move it made a couple of months ago, designed to make it harder for TV networks to use content from Facebook and other rival social networks on their screens.

The reversal comes after Twitter executives heard from annoyed TV programmers, who told the service that it was making their jobs harder — not the message Twitter wants to hear as it tries to cement its relationship with the TV ecosystem.

In March, Twitter began telling companies like Mass Relevance, which help TV networks and other clients sort and display social network posts on websites, TV shows and “public settings” like sports stadiums, that they would have to work exclusively with Twitter if they wanted the best access to Twitter’s data.

Twitter executives told the data companies, and the TV networks they worked with, that it was making the move to “protect their investment in social TV.” But that argument didn’t impress TV programmers, who complained that the move was going to require them to spend more time and money to get posts on their air, since they would have to work with multiple providers.

But that was then. Sources say Twitter reached out to programmers and sports leagues like Major League Baseball this morning, and told them that they have reversed their policy. Word is beginning to get out to the service providers now.

Peace in our time!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cb8luHdpR84

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

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