Jessica Guynn

USA TODAY

SAN FRANCISCO — More than 2 million people watched Thursday night's NFL game between the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets on Twitter, the company said.

It was the first time that you could watch a live-streamed NFL game on Twitter.

An average of 243,000 people were watching the game on Twitter at any given time. Each viewer tuned in to an average of 22 minutes of the game.

CBS and the NFL network, which simulcast the game, reached an average of 15.4 million viewers.

Twitter to stream Thursday night NFL games

Thursday night's game was the first major test of Twitter's push to become a destination for live events. Twitter is looking to entice more users and broaden its mainstream appeal with "live" programming, such as content from Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association. Twitter is also fishing for more revenue. Live-streamed events help sell video ads, which typically command a premium as marketers slowly begin to shift some television ad dollars to the Internet.

Twitter debuts on Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Xbox One

Twitter paid $10 million for rights to the 10 Thursday night games this season.

The live-stream of the game was available on Twitter’s mobile app and website as well as on Apple TV, Amazon Fire and Xbox One.

Twitter shares rose nearly 1% in after-hours trading.