In 2016, the NFL and the Mountain West Conference moved into the next frontier by streaming entire games on Twitter. Both leagues have since moved on to other streaming platforms -- the NFL puts its Thursday games on Amazon, the MW on Facebook -- but Twitter is not done streaming football games.
On Tuesday, Adidas announced it has partnered with Twitter to stream a number of high school football games.
Dubbed "Friday Night Stripes," Intersport will produce an 8-game national schedule that will be heavy on Adidas branding throughout. ESPN and SEC Network announcer Courtney Lyle will serve as play-by-play, former Ohio State and NFL linebacker A.J. Hawk will provide color analysis, and YouTube personality Cameron "Scooter" Magruder will handle sidelines.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2CKnOmDqAw
But wait, there's more:
Additionally, special guests will make appearances and join the play calling throughout the series of games, including adidas Football NFL athletes and entertainment partners and influencers.
“High school football fans view Twitter as an indispensable tool to follow what's happening -- whether it’s the national recruiting stage or their local communities, every Friday night, we see players, teams, coaches, alumni, and fans embrace this passionate culture,” Twitter head of sports broadcast partnerships Andrew Barge said in a statement Andrew Barge. “We're thrilled to partner with adidas and Intersport to help fulfill this massive and untapped opportunity. Both have established credibility as creators in the high school sports arena, and with Twitter's engaged audience, we're excited to deliver eight live games that celebrate the unique, community-based passion for high school football on a national level."
While the full 8-game schedule is yet to be finalized, these four dates have been nailed down:
Sept. 7: Ellenwood Cedar Grove (Ga.) vs. Powder Springs McEachern (Ga.)
Sept. 14: Indianapolis Ben Davis (Ind.) vs. Warren Central (Ind.)
Oct. 12: Marietta (Ga.) vs. Powder Springs McEachern (Ga.)
Oct. 18: Doral (Fla.) vs. Chaminade (Fla.)
The final four games will be announced at a later date, but it's safe to assume further participants will all share a certain uniform supplier.