{"id":8890,"date":"2019-02-24T19:26:40","date_gmt":"2019-02-25T00:26:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/twitch-the-future-is-streaming-live\/"},"modified":"2019-03-04T17:41:35","modified_gmt":"2019-03-04T22:41:35","slug":"twitch-the-future-is-streaming-live","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/twitch-the-future-is-streaming-live\/","title":{"rendered":"Twitch: The Future Is Streaming, Live"},"content":{"rendered":"

Twitch: Gaming Alone, Together<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Founded in 2011, Twitch is emblematic of the democratization of content and financial flows we see everywhere in today\u2019s gig economy [1]. A live-streaming video platform, Twitch enables anyone to publicly broadcast their own content on camera in real time (i.e., streamers) and anyone to watch, comment on, and even participate in that content (i.e., viewers) [2]. Streamers can also record live broadcasts and post them for on-demand viewing later. In contrast to Snapchat, Facebook Live, or Instagram, Twitch focuses on content live-streamed publicly, rather than to a closed group of friends, and generally for periods longer than a few minutes. Perhaps unsurprising given its gaming origins, Twitch uses gamification to make the experience on the platform more addictive, such as leaderboards for subscribers and exclusive badges and emoticons [3]. The platform has exploded in popularity over the past eight years \u2013 with average concurrent viewers hitting one million last year [4] \u2013 and has created enormous value for viewers, streamers, advertisers, and as of 2014, Amazon.<\/p>\n

At a high level, like any good platform, Twitch creates value by aggregating supply and demand and in this case, lowering search costs for all sides. By gathering millions of viewers on the same platform, streamers can build audiences more easily and viewers can more easily find the streamers they like as well as other viewers they\u2019d like to connect with. Similarly, Twitch has aggregated on its platform a large base of similar (and highly engaged) consumers for advertisers to target.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/h4>\n

Viewers<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Besides lowering search costs, Twitch allows fans to enjoy the thrill of watching other, often more talented gamers play (or crafters craft, etc.) in real time [5]. Live chat rooms alongside the streaming window give viewers opportunities to feel connected to these personalities, as streamers often comment on the group chat while broadcasting and can translate that connection into involvement by adjusting their behavior based on viewer input (e.g., land in this area) [2]. As viewers often have intense shared interests, Twitch also fosters community among viewers with these group chats as well as direct messaging.<\/p>\n

Streamers<\/strong><\/p>\n

Twitch creates substantial emotional value for streamers by providing them a platform to showcase their skills and personalities and fosters feelings of connection from the streamer back to the viewers. More practically, by placing ads, facilitating product placement, and enabling paid subscriptions and micro-donations (called \u201cBits\u201d) to specific streamers, Twitch enables streamers to derive significant financial benefits from livestreaming [6] [7]. One of the most famous streamers, Ninja, made nearly $10 million last year [8]. (Twitch, of course, takes a cut of advertising revenue, paid subscriptions, and Bits, in addition to paid streaming partnerships with gaming companies, music concerts, and the NBA, among others [5] [6] [9] [12].)<\/p>\n

Advertisers<\/strong><\/p>\n

For advertisers, Twitch provides valuable access to a core demographic \u2013 millennials \u2013 and access at a time when this valuable group is emotionally involved and more open to advertising. The demographic on Twitch is also likely to have cut the cable cord and enabled ad blockers, making warm product placements especially valuable for advertisers [10]. French President Emmanuel Macron has even hosted a debate on Twitch to boost viewership among young people [11].<\/p>\n

Amazon<\/strong><\/p>\n

The acquisition of Twitch has allowed Amazon to cross-promote its Amazon Prime offering on Twitch and vice versa [3], but likely more importantly, Twitch gives Amazon additional data on viewing habits to more effectively target product suggestions (e.g., cooking channel viewers may want cooking supplies, gamers additional games). Potentially, viewing habits could also inform Amazon Prime content creation. A strong impetus for the acquisition was likely a desire to retake some of the online advertising pie from Google\u2019s YouTube [13], a push Amazon is sustaining by aggressively expanding Twitch into non-gaming channels to lure advertisers to a wider audience [14].<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Looking Ahead: Life, Streaming Live<\/strong><\/h3>\n

While Twitch\u2019s core remains gaming, the platform has expanded into talk shows, crafting, music festivals, even interactive farm animal feeding<\/a>. Is it possible that Twitch represents \u201cthe future of live television,\u201d given its interactive and cooperative nature? [4] [15] Scripted content producers like Hulu and Netflix may be cheering the demise of Big Cable, but platforms like Twitch may have the last laugh.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sources<\/strong><\/p>\n

[1] Peter Rubinstein, “The rise of the Twitch-preneurs and the evolution of tipping,\u201d BBC, September 2018, http:\/\/www.bbc.com\/capital\/story\/20180924-the-rise-of-the-twitchpreneurs-and-the-evolution-of-tipping<\/a>, accessed Feb 23, 2019.<\/p>\n

[2] \u201cMost Innovative Companies: Twitch,\u201d Fast Company, January 2019, https:\/\/www.fastcompany.com\/company\/twitch<\/a>, accessed Feb 23, 2019.<\/p>\n

[3] Richard Devine, \u201cWhat is Twitch Prime and how do I get it?\u201d Windows Central, March 2018, https:\/\/www.windowscentral.com\/what-twitch-prime-and-how-do-i-get-it<\/a>, accessed Feb 23, 2019.<\/p>\n

[4] David Lidsky, \u201cDrop the clicker. Twitch has a vision for the future of live television,\u201d Fast Company, February 2019, https:\/\/www.fastcompany.com\/90298949\/twitch-most-innovative-companies-2019<\/a>, accessed Feb 23, 2019.<\/p>\n

[5] Steven Asarch, \u201cWhat Is Twitch? Understanding the Explosive Live-Streaming Service,\u201d May 2018, https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/2018\/05\/11\/twitch-909594.html<\/a>, accessed Feb 23, 2019.<\/p>\n

[6] Brad Stephenson, \u201cTwitch: Everything You Need to Know,\u201d Lifewire, December 2018, https:\/\/www.lifewire.com\/what-is-twitch-4143337<\/a>, accessed Feb 23, 2019.<\/p>\n

[7] Sean Allen, \u201cTwitch\u2019s US Streamers Reportedly Made $87.1 Million in 2017,\u201d Market Realist, February 2019, https:\/\/marketrealist.com\/2019\/02\/apple-streaming-service-may-cost-15-a-month-but-faces-challenges<\/a>, accessed Feb 23, 2019.<\/p>\n

[8] Vikki Blake, \u201cFortnite streamer Ninja earned almost $10 million in 2018,\u201d MCV, January 2019, https:\/\/www.mcvuk.com\/business\/fortnite-streamer-ninja-earned-almost-10-million-in-2018<\/a>, accessed Feb 23, 2019.<\/p>\n

[9] Tom Bassam, \u201cG League and Twitch expand streaming deal,\u201d SportsPro, February 2019, http:\/\/www.sportspromedia.com\/news\/g-league-twitch-streaming-rights<\/a>, accessed Feb 23, 2019.<\/p>\n

[10] Rae Paoletta, \u201cHow Advertisers Are Using Twitch To Reach People Who Hate Ads,\u201d Ad Exchanger, October 2018, https:\/\/adexchanger.com\/ad-exchange-news\/how-advertisers-are-using-twitch-to-reach-people-who-hate-ads\/<\/a>, accessed Feb 23, 2019.<\/p>\n

[11] Luke Goodling, \u201cFrench President Macron to host debate on Twitch tomorrow,\u201d Dot Esports, February 2019, https:\/\/dotesports.com\/culture\/news\/french-president-macron-to-host-debate-on-twitch-tomorrow<\/a>, accessed Feb 23, 2019.<\/p>\n

[12] \u201cThe Beginners Guide to Twitch,\u201d GameDesigning, May 2018, https:\/\/www.gamedesigning.org\/gaming\/beginners-guide-to-twitch\/<\/a>, accessed Feb 23, 2019.<\/p>\n

[13] Lucas Shaw, \u201cAmazon Has YouTube Envy,\u201d Bloomberg Businessweek, August 2018, https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2018-08-15\/amazon-wants-twitch-to-be-a-youtube-competitor<\/a>, accessed Feb 23, 2019.<\/p>\n

[14] Kevin Tucker, \u201cTwitch replaces IRL and Creative with ten more specific categories,\u201d Shack News, August 2018, https:\/\/www.shacknews.com\/article\/106655\/twitch-replaces-irl-and-creative-with-ten-more-specific-categories<\/a>, accessed Feb 23, 2019.<\/p>\n

[15] Nathan Grayson, \u201cKid-Friendly Twitch Streams Aim To Be The New Saturday Morning Cartoons,\u201d Kotaku, February 2019, https:\/\/kotaku.com\/kid-friendly-twitch-streams-aim-to-be-the-new-saturday-1832378500<\/a>, accessed Feb 23, 2019.<\/p>\n

[16] Tom Ward, \u201cThe Biggest Gamer In The World Breaks Down Twitch For Us,\u201d Forbes, May 2018, https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/tomward\/2018\/05\/01\/the-biggest-gamer-in-the-world-breaks-down-twitch-for-us\/#2d86aa865bb5<\/a>, accessed Feb 23, 2019.<\/p>\n

[17] Paul Tassi, \u201cFortnite’s Ninja Was 2018’s Most Viewed Twitch Channel And It Wasn’t Even Remotely Close,\u201d Forbes, December 2018, https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/insertcoin\/2018\/12\/30\/fortnites-ninja-was-2018s-most-viewed-twitch-channel-and-it-wasnt-even-remotely-close\/#7f404dc8dfec<\/a>, accessed Feb 23, 2019.<\/p>\n

[18] Sarah Perez, \u201cYouTube is closing the gap with Twitch on live streaming, report finds,\u201d Tech Crunch, October 2018, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2018\/10\/25\/youtube-is-closing-the-gap-with-twitch-on-live-streaming-report-finds\/<\/a>, accessed Feb 23, 2019.<\/p>\n

[19] Justin Kirkland, \u201cAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez Hopped on Twitch to Talk Trans Rights and Nintendo 64,\u201d Esquire, January 2019, https:\/\/www.esquire.com\/lifestyle\/a25998272\/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-twitch-n64\/<\/a>, accessed Feb 23, 2019.<\/p>\n

[First photo]\u00a0http:\/\/www.gambitmag.com\/2016\/10\/twitch-gets-amazon-prime-treatment-twitch-prime\/<\/p>\n

[Second photo]\u00a0https:\/\/holdtoreset.com\/twitch-streamer-ninja-record-stream\/<\/p>\n

[Third photo]\u00a0https:\/\/medium.com\/julian-zehr\/twitch-tv-goes-mainstream-with-irl-streaming-5f3d22bee5ff<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Twitch, a wildly popular live-streaming platform for gamers, looks to become the next major broadcaster of our lives<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9993,"featured_media":8891,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[1885,221,717,1082,2010],"class_list":["post-8890","hck-submission","type-hck-submission","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-digital-platform","category-gaming","category-internet","category-live-streaming","category-twitch","hck-taxonomy-organization-twitch","hck-taxonomy-industry-media-and-broadcasting","hck-taxonomy-country-united-states"],"connected_submission_link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/assignment\/dig-it-blog-post-assignment-i-innovative-platforms\/","yoast_head":"\nTwitch: The Future Is Streaming, Live - Digital Innovation and Transformation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/twitch-the-future-is-streaming-live\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Twitch: The Future Is Streaming, Live - 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