Amazon has bought video-game streaming service Twitch for $970m (£585m) and not google as originally thought.
Twitch, launched in June 2011, is the most popular Internet destination for watching and broadcasting videogame play. We had previously brought you news that Google had bought Twitch, but in a surprise move it seems Amazon has acquired it instead. A statement from Twitch CEO, Emmett Shear, has been posted on the website thanking the community and also officially stating Amazon as the new owners. In the statement, it is said that the employees, brand and independence will be kept but with backing from Amazon they will be able to reach more people and improve the service. Amazon has reportedly paid $970m (£585m).
So what happened to the Google deal? One source mentioned that it was due to concerns that Google were concerned about antitrust issues and that they couldn’t come up with an agreement on the size of a potential breakup fee in case the deal didn’t go through. It seems that no sooner than Google backed down from the deal, Amazon were there to pick it up.
With Amazon making a big push into gaming lately, acquiring google is good business sense. with the revenue that is created from advertising on Twitch will be massive, in July alone there were more than 55million views and 15 billion minutes of video content. It will be interesting to see if Twitch will continue to be so successful with their new owners.
Thanks to BBC News for supplying us with this information.
Image courtesy of GameSspot
