• by Ben Frederick  @mp_benfred, August 15, 2016

Twitter, has had its fair share of challenges (having had its growth forecast recently downgraded by eMarketer) and mismanaged public relations disasters, but the company may have an ace up its sleeve in the coming months to engage users again: live-stream video, particularly sports.

The company has signed a number of live-streaming deals with big names this year, including Wimbledon, the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League and Pac-12 Networks.

Twitter is also in discussions with Major League Soccer and the Professional Golfers Association, according to the New York Times.

The first NFL game to be streamed will be a New York Jets/Buffalo Bills game on September 15.

Twitter has had a rough go trying to engage and retain users, but the presence of live video might be enough to pull people in off the streets, so to speak.

The company is also reportedly in talks with Apple to bring its app to Apple TV, which would allow Apple TV users to watch NFL games live.

Being able to stream live sports from an mobile device without a subscription has the potential to be a huge boon to the struggling platform.

Oscar Orozco, an eMarketer analyst, stated that he believes live video is the best card in Twitter’s hand right now: “By continuing to invest in video, particularly live video, Twitter could potentially begin to more successfully monetize and grow its user base.”

Every other social-media platform is making a push into live video. Facebook has pursued celebrities, while Snapchat has inspired a young generation of content creators. Twitter’s deals with big networks may be the life preserver it needs.