16M Users Strong, TwitchTV Takes Live-Streamed Gaming Portal Mobile With iPad And Android Apps
TwitchTV, a live-streamed video game portal and community for gamers that was spawned last June from live video platform Justin.tv, has been booming in terms of growth and revenue.
Context & Ripple Effects
TwitchTV is the breakout product of a longer live-video experiment: parent Justin.tv opened its API to developers back in July 2009, arguing that archived video had exploded online while live video had not because platforms lacked flexibility, then tested monetization with a pay-per-view offering for select creators in December 2009 and demoed CamTweet for live-to-Twitter broadcasting. Spawning the gaming vertical out as its own brand last June now looks like the payoff — 16 million users and, per TechCrunch, real revenue.
The choice of iPad first is consistent with the traffic data on record: as of October 2011 the iPad accounted for 97% of tablet web traffic and generated more web traffic than the iPhone, making it the natural screen for watching long live sessions away from the desk. That VentureBeat and GigaOM both picked up the launch on the same day suggests the move was read as a milestone for live video generally, not just a gaming story.
First-order effects
- TwitchTV's 16 million users gain native live viewing on iPad and Android, extending watch time beyond the desktop browser sessions where Justin.tv-family live streams were previously consumed.
- The iPad-led launch deliberately targets the device that dominated tablet web traffic in late 2011, betting the living-room-and-couch session — not the office desk — is where live gaming audiences will grow.
Second-order effects
- Rival live-video services face immediate pressure to field their own mobile clients, making app-store presence table stakes for any platform claiming a live audience.
- Game publishers and tournament broadcasters gain a portable distribution surface for streamed gameplay, strengthening the argument for exclusive or paid content models that Justin.tv began probing with its 2009 pay-per-view experiment.
Third-order effects
- If gaming keeps carrying live-video growth, the market structures into focused vertical community products alongside generalist platforms — TwitchTV's spin-out from Justin.tv is an early template for that split.
- Moving live distribution onto tablets and phones hands Apple and Google's app stores the gatekeeper role over reach and monetization that desktop browsers never imposed.
The trend: Gaming is becoming the use case that proves live video can scale commercially, and its audience is following it off the desktop onto tablets and phones.