Twitch

Twitch is an American^[1] video live streaming service operated by Twitch Interactive, a subsidiary of Amazon.^[1] Introduced in June 2011 as a spin-off of the general-interest streaming platform, Justin.tv,^[2] the site primarily focuses on video game live streaming,^[3] including broadcasts of eSports competitions,^[4] in addition to music broadcasts,^[5] creative content,^[6] and more recently, "in real life" streams.^[7] Content on the site can be viewed either live or via video on demand.^[8]

The popularity of Twitch eclipsed that of its general-interest counterpart. In 2013, the website had 45 million unique viewers,^[9] and by February 2014, it was considered the fourth largest source of peak Internet traffic in the United States.^[10] At the same time, Justin.tv's parent company was re-branded as Twitch Interactive to represent the shift in focus and was shut down in August 2014.^[11] That month, the service was acquired by Amazon for US$970 million,^[12] which later led to the introduction of synergies with the company's subscription service Amazon Prime.^[13] Twitch later acquired Curse,^[14] an operator of online video gaming communities.^[15]

Controversy

Illegal streaming

Twitch was accused by Deji that they streamed his fight with Jake Paul illegally.^[16]

Twitch later responded by saying:

“	Our community guidelines prohibit uploading any content that a person does not own, does not have the rights to, or are otherwise not authorised to use." Doing so violates our terms of service and may make their account liable to DMCA [Digital Millennium Copyright Act] takedowns by third-party rights-holders. We were responsive to related reports.	”
―Twitch's response[17]

Refusal to suspend Alinity

Twitch became the source of controversy after their refusal to suspend the streamer Alinity after she threw her cat, Milo.^[18]

References