Twitter looks to cash in on TV-related tweets overseas

Real-time chatter about television abounds on Twitter, offering a potentially lucrative opportunity for advertising. The social network is looking to make the most of it, announcing a series of deals Monday to better monetize tweets about TV shows around the world.

Twitter has made two acquisitions to help marketers get more value from TV-related tweets outside the U.S. It acquired SecondSync, which has offices in the U.K., and Mesagraph, which is based in Paris but will join Twitter in London.

The companies both offer an important service in the world of online ads: They analyze trends in social media posts about TV, and deliver the data to broadcasters and marketers who use it to build better campaigns.

In a related announcement, Twitter is expanding a partnership with Kantar Media to help it measure TV chatter in the Nordics, Russia, parts of Africa and southeast Asia. Twitter already had a partnership with Kantar to develop tools around measurement standards in the U.K. and Spain.

Together, the deals could help Twitter attract more TV advertising partners in previously untapped geographies.

"Overseas television chatter is immensely valuable to Twitter," said Walter Delph, CEO of Adly, an online ad platform that tracks conversations to connect brands with celebrities. Twitter can help marketers amplify their campaigns during live events, he said, like it does in the U.S. during the Super Bowl or the Oscars.

The acquisitions are likely to help Twitter build closer relationships with advertisers with a strong presence outside the U.S. That could include companies like Unilever, based in the Netherlands and London, or Diageo, which owns Guinness and Smirnoff and is also based in London.

As part of Twitter, Mesagraph said it would be working closely with TV networks, agencies, advertisers, producers and integrators to help them "make the most out of Twitter."

SecondSync said it would be able to take public conversations about TV "to the next level."

Financial terms of the acquisitions weren't disclosed.

"These initiatives reflect the strength of our commitment to the TV market," Twitter said.

Twitter has already made similar moves in the U.S. Last year the company announced its acquisition of Bluefin Labs, which measures audience engagement on social media channels.

Zach Miners covers social networking, search and general technology news for IDG News Service. Follow Zach on Twitter at @zachminers. Zach's e-mail address is zach_miners@idg.com