Sites have been falling over themselves to report that the next insane tech buyout will be Google, who intend to purchase Twitch for $1B. However, before we get all carried away, we need to remember that the original source, the Wall Street Journal, actually stated “early talks” and neither party has actually come close to reaching an agreement yet.
The acquisition would make perfect sense to Google as You Tube has been relatively unchallenged with online recorded video, but the next generation of consoles has seen Twitch make some pretty big waves in their previously unexplored territory.
The largely negative reaction from the gaming community is understandable, considering You Tube’s draconian policy against so called license infringement, sending out thousands of copyright notices on gameplay videos to content creators, both famous and amateur.
As Twitch appeals to both the casual mobile gamer along with the more hardcore, Twitch would obviously help towards any long term objectives that Google are working towards, so rather than have these two services competing against each other, the thinking man’s gamer would have You Tube and Twitch working side by side, or as part of some kind of super video portal, whilst also keeping the preying wolves from sniffing any potential opportunities.
With Amazon having released a set-top box that you can play games on, it is not beyond the realms of possibility for Google to have similar plans on the horizon and with 45 million users a month using Twitch, there is a strong argument that a purchase price that consists of more cash than Walter White could ever bury in a desert, is actually a bargain.
The hard facts…
According to bandwidth-tracking firm Sandvine,Twitch has also tripled its total bandwidth usage over the past 12 months. It now generates more traffic than HBO GO, which just further illustrates why Google are pouncing so quickly.
Google’s main priority will probably be to monetize Twitch. This along with clamping down on users’ videos against a background of unlicensed music is probably what concerns gamers the most.
If we look under the hood at the mechanics of the video streaming service, we only need to look as far as their end of year report where Twitch points out that 76% of its users are aged between 18 and 49; that 68% are watching less TV in order to focus on “game entertainment”; and that 58% spend more than 20 hours a week on Twitch.
Around 99% of users watch live streams of games, while 38% watch video highlights, 61% chat with other Twitch users and 25% broadcast their own gameplay.
As we all begin to watch less and less TV in the conventional way and the way we access entertainment evolves, it is clear to see that that the marriage between You Tube and Twitch is inevitable, but as a gamer, what are your thoughts and concerns about this?
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