NFL Thursday Night Football Live Stream: Twitter App For Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Xbox Means New Online Viewing Options

Twitter announced Wednesday a new app for streaming products Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Microsoft's Xbox One. The major takeaway: you'll now be able to stream through the app living sporting events, including broadcasts of 10 NFL Thursday Night Football games.

The move had been expected after the New York Times reported in August that the app was aimed at bolstering Twitter's live streaming offerings, with a particular focus on allowing "millions of Apple TV" users to "watch the streaming N.F.L. games."

The new Twitter app will also allow users, who do not need to have a Twitter account, to watch content from MLB, the NBA, Pac 12 and others, like Cheddar and Bloomberg News. The streams of sporting events will have features that could add, or possibly distract, from a typical broadcast. Apple TV users will be able to have a side-by-side feed of tweeted video clips that plays side-by-side with broadcast, which the Verge noted "sounds a little disorientating." Viewers will also be able to follow along with a Twitter timeline alongside the stream.

"These devices will bring Twitter's live streaming video experience to life on the TV screen," Anthony Noto, chief financial officer at Twitter, said in a press release. "Twitter has always been a great complement to TV, and now fans can enjoy even more premium video with live Tweets — and the best content on Twitter — right from their TVs. We're excited to introduce this new experience to people, without requiring a paywall or having to log in to Twitter."

The apps, which are free, will be available to select markets. The Apple TV version is set to be available globally through the app store, while the Xbox One app will be available in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom and the United States. The Amazon Fire TV Twitter app will be available in the U.S. and U.K. only.

All of this means that Thursday night at 8:25 p.m. EDT, users of these products will be able to fire up the Twitter app and watch the New York Jets take on the Buffalo Bills.