Twitter[1] is turning its spotlight onto a new demographic in its bid to lure more advertising dollars to its social media platform: deep-pocketed business users.
The microblogging service has 330 million monthly active users but has struggled to turn its popularity into profit, losing out to rival Facebook[2] for ad dollars.
Now it is going after a more niche business audience, taking on LinkedIn[3], Microsoft Corp's professional online network.
For several years, Twitter has had an employee whose job is to teach and encourage CEOs like Goldman Sachs Group's Lloyd Blankfein and Walt Disney Co's Bob Iger to tweet. They both do, sparingly.
Twitter launched a round-the-clock streaming news network with Bloomberg[4] Media this week, which is designed to appeal to business people as well as a general audience.
The 24/7 news service, called "TicToc by Bloomberg," live-streamed coverage of British Prime Minister Theresa May discussing Brexit[5] negotiations on Wednesday, its third day of operation, attracting about 4,000 viewers.
It also racked up 55,000 concurrent views on the US House of Representatives vote on the tax bill on Wednesday. Global news updates had total views in the hundreds of thousands.
Twitter and Bloomberg have not publicised financial arrangements over TicToc, but such projects usually work on a share of ad or sponsorship revenue. Neither commented on Wednesday.
TicToc has seven initial sponsors including wireless carrier AT&T and derivatives marketplace firm CME Group. Bloomberg has said it will eventually open up to additional sponsors.
Twitter's shares rose slightly on Wednesday. They are up 45 percent over the last 12 months, outpacing the red-hot technology sector, even though ad revenue was down 8 percent in the third quarter from the...