Twitch is one of the most popular online platforms for streaming live media. Twitch is most notable for the staggering amount of gaming channels, from both professional and amateur-level users and companies. While the streaming service was once only optimized for PC gamers, Twitch has gone on to include console and mobile integration.
According to film and media news source Variety, Google’s YouTube division has recently completed a deal with Twitch, acquiring the company for $1 billion. Twitch has over 45 million active users logging into the service every month. With over 1 million users uploading and streaming content every month, Twitch and its Twitch.TV service have become one of the largest gaming mediums for video content. According to “sources familiar with the pact”, the purchase was made in an “all-cash offer”. Once the deal has been officially and legally confirmed, the Twitch purchase will be the largest in YouTube’s history. To put things in perspective, YouTube was purchased by Google in 2006- for $1.65 billion.
Twitch was launched in 2011 by the original co-creators of Justin.tv, and serves as the mecca for live gaming content. YouTube still remains as the largest host and provider of online video content, as the Google-owned service is home to more than 1 billion worldwide users. On a worldwide, global scale, 100 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute, with over 6 billion hours of video watched over the course of every month.
Again, the original source of this information comes from unverified “sources familiar with the pact”. Representatives of Google, YouTube or Twitch have yet to give any kind of an official statement on the matter. If this deal is indeed true, we’ll have more information regarding the matter, and what it means for Twitch users in the near future.