Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      Trump U-turn on Nvidia spurs talk of grand bargain with China

      18 July 2025

      Netflix premieres first AI-generated scene

      18 July 2025

      MultiChoice: We can’t afford to compete without help

      17 July 2025

      The internet’s weakest link is under the ocean

      17 July 2025

      AI misuse shakes South African courtrooms

      17 July 2025
    • World

      Grok 4 arrives with bold claims and fresh controversy

      10 July 2025

      Samsung’s bet on folding phones faces major test

      10 July 2025

      Bitcoin pushes higher into record territory

      10 July 2025

      OpenAI to launch web browser in direct challenge to Google Chrome

      10 July 2025

      Cupertino vs Brussels: Apple challenges Big Tech crackdown

      7 July 2025
    • In-depth

      The 1940s visionary who imagined the Information Age

      14 July 2025

      MultiChoice is working on a wholesale overhaul of DStv

      10 July 2025

      Siemens is battling Big Tech for AI supremacy in factories

      24 June 2025

      The algorithm will sing now: why musicians should be worried about AI

      20 June 2025

      Meta bets $72-billion on AI – and investors love it

      17 June 2025
    • TCS

      TCS+ | Samsung unveils significant new safety feature for Galaxy A-series phones

      16 July 2025

      TCS+ | MVNX on the opportunities in South Africa’s booming MVNO market

      11 July 2025

      TCS | Connecting Saffas – Renier Lombard on The Lekker Network

      7 July 2025

      TechCentral Nexus S0E4: Takealot’s big Post Office jobs plan

      4 July 2025

      TCS | Tech, townships and tenacity: Spar’s plan to win with Spar2U

      3 July 2025
    • Opinion

      A smarter approach to digital transformation in ICT distribution

      15 July 2025

      In defence of equity alternatives for BEE

      30 June 2025

      E-commerce in ICT distribution: enabler or disruptor?

      30 June 2025

      South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

      17 June 2025

      AI and the future of ICT distribution

      16 June 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CambriLearn
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SevenC
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » News » Google gets a Twitch about e-sports

    Google gets a Twitch about e-sports

    By Regardt van der Berg20 May 2014
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp

    Twitch-640

    Online video behemoth YouTube, owned by Google, is said to have reached a deal to buy Twitch, a company that streams video of people playing videogames, for more than US$1bn. But why?

    According to a report by Variety, in which it quotes unnamed sources close to the deal, the purchase will be an “all-cash offer” and will be announced soon. If it happens, it will be the most significant acquisition in YouTube’s history. YouTube itself was acquired by Google for $1,6bn in 2006.

    Twitch is a popular videogame streaming service that allows gamers to broadcast and watch streaming gameplay footage in real time.

    The company was launched in June 2011, and was developed by Justin.tv co-founders, Justin Kan and Emmett Shear. Justin.tv was one of the Internet’s first live-streaming, user-generated video websites.

    Twitch has more than 45m monthly users and has a million members who actively upload videos every month.

    The company serves more traffic than Facebook during peak times and is ranked fourth in US Internet traffic statistics — only Netflix, Google and Apple are bigger.

    Since its inception, the three-year-old start-up has secured funding of just over $40m. In 2012 and 2013, it has secured investments of $15m and $20m respectively.

    “The appeal of Twitch for gamers is in e-sports, watching really high-level gameplay from professional gamers around the world. Not only do these professional gamers entertain their subscribers but viewers use the live game feeds to pick up strategies and tactics for their own games,” says Geoff Burrows, editor at NAG, a South African magazine that writes about and reviews videogames. “Most South African gamers don’t have the ideal broadband infrastructure that allows local gamers to stream their game live and play it at the same time. Once this improves, we will see more live feeds from local gamers.”

    Twitch sells monthly ad-free subscriptions for $9/month, but users can subscribe to individual channels for just $5/month. The company also has a number of deals in place to distribute shows from popular gaming websites such as GameSpot, Joystiq and Destructoid.

    One of Twitch’s video feeds recently went viral and garnered more than a million participants.
    For YouTube, this deal could mean that it will secure a larger chunk of the online-video streaming market and increase its user numbers. Twitch will benefit from Google’s massive data centre infrastructure.

    Should the deal go through, it’s likely the US department of justice will take a closer look at the potential anticompetitive nature of the deal in the online video market, analysts says.  — © 2014 NewsCentral Media



    Emmett Shear Geoff Burrows Google Justin Kan Justin.tv Twitch YouTube
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleNashua Mobile profits nosedive
    Next Article Dimension Data launches global data centres

    Related Posts

    OpenAI to launch web browser in direct challenge to Google Chrome

    10 July 2025

    What Steve Jobs feared is now the tech industry’s reality

    9 July 2025

    Apple’s AI ambitions rattled by defection to Meta

    8 July 2025
    Company News

    SA businesses embrace gen AI – but strategy and skills are lagging

    17 July 2025

    Ransomware in South Africa: the human factor behind the growing crisis

    16 July 2025

    Mental wellness at scale: how Mac fuels October Health’s mission

    15 July 2025
    Opinion

    A smarter approach to digital transformation in ICT distribution

    15 July 2025

    In defence of equity alternatives for BEE

    30 June 2025

    E-commerce in ICT distribution: enabler or disruptor?

    30 June 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.