Somewhere someone is playing a video game and someone else is watching – like television. This is made possible by Twitch.tv. This video game platform is worth almost a billion dollars to Amazon. Let’s discuss Amazon 120m 20m January Twitchgrahamcnbc.
Why Amazon is hitting Twitch?
San Francisco This is how it works in Silicon Valley: In 2012 there was a first round of financing for around twelve million dollars, in 2013 another 20 million dollars and in 2014 the start-up Twitch from San Francisco was sold to Amazon for 120 million dollars. Corresponding rumors confirmed Amazon and Twitch late Monday. This means that the aggressive online retail group is clearly outperforming Google. Allegedly, the parent company of the video platform YouTube had also been in talks about an acquisition.
Even the boss can hardly believe it: “It’s almost unbelievable that Twitch didn’t even exist almost three years ago,” says Twitch CEO Emmett Shear on his website and thanks the players who play their video games live online on Twitch, so that millions of others caan watch them on the screen, like football matches or car races.
Today he is pleased to announce the acquisition by Amazon, he writes on Monday. They chose Amazon “because they believe in our community,” Shear notes, implicitly acknowledging that there were other interested parties. The company will continue to operate as before, in its own offices in California, under its own brand and independently of Amazon.
Rise with downsides: How does Amazon work?
For Google, Twitch would have been a suitable addition to the YouTube video platform. On Twitch, gamers post live broadcasts of their PC or console games on the Internet. Video games as live entertainment have a long tradition, especially in Asia, and the trend has now reached the western world.
The almost 60 million mostly young users of Twitch each month represent a lucrative target group for advertisers. The online trading giant from Seattle thus occupies a top position in the battle for young consumers who also want to ensnare Google’s YouTube or Netflix. According to Twitch, 58 percent of viewers spend more than 20 hours a week in front of the screen watching strangers or friends play. That’s a strong base for video advertising. More than 84 percent of all calls to a recorded game take place in the first 14 days after the first broadcast. This is also a value that attracts advertisers and increases marketing opportunities.
If the trend towards live broadcasting of games and tournaments continues as it has been up to now, a completely new industry for broadcasting rights and game series could emerge alongside sports and music broadcasting. While Twitch broadcasts are free today, top events such as the World Games Championships could be broadcast for a fee.
Amazon 120m 20m January Twitchgrahamcnbc, Just a few days ago, apparently in anticipation of further commercialization, Twitch tightened its copyright policy and is now hiding copyrighted music. One of the biggest beneficiaries of the Amazon deal is Combinatory. The venture capitalist was one of the first investors to invest around $50,000 in Twitch’s predecessor, Justin.tv, in 2005. Now it’s payday.
