Twitch.TV , much like YouTube, now occupies a space in my internet life where I can sort of remember it not existing, but can't really conceive of it not being around. That it was launched less than two years seems like scary time-distorting magic. And given the record breaking growth that Twitch has now announced, it seems I'm not alone in obsessive digestion of gaming streams, competitions and oddities. In fact, last month, 600,000 broadcasters attracted over 28 million unique viewers.
"Twitch launched in June of 2011 and our growth ever since has exceeded even my expectations, which were not small," says Twitch CEO Emmett Shear. "A year and a half later, the community of broadcasters and viewers has multiplied hundreds of percent. Brands like Electronic Arts, Activision and Sony Online Entertainment have begun integrating Twitch directly into their products, charities have collectively raised more than three million dollars using Twitch as a platform, and conventions are now turning to Twitch as their exclusive streaming partner."
Impressively, those 28 million viewers watched an average of over 1.5 hours of video per day. Presumably the majority of that is directed at the big eSports trinity of Starcraft 2, League of Legends and Dota2. But Twitch also hosts everything from Arma squads, to indie discoveries, developer livestreams and speed-runners doing strange things to gaming's past.
Of course, Twitch isn't entirely responsible for its latest success. The recent closure of competitor Own3D surely had a hand in their record breaking month, as viewers switched over for their passive gaming fix.
Thanks, Gamespot .
