Times change and generation after generation the old steps aside and leaves room for the new. This, which seems a bit like a Wildiana ruling , in the light of the facts is the reality of the gaming world . Video games have evolved over time and today we are talking about eSports rather than games . Well, following the discourse of the old which leaves room for the new, even the good old television is leaving more and more space to the new reality of web streaming . In this context, the most followed streaming platform to date is undoubtedly Twitch.tv . According to the data estimated in 2018, this platformit recorded an average of 19 million active users every day of which about 1.5 million online at the same time every hour. Data of this kind surpasses any world television broadcaster including the major American networks.
The Twitch.tv story
Twitch.tv was created in 2011 by Justin Kan and Emmet Shear , two web investors. The two had already launched the Justin.tv online streaming platform 4 years earlier . Following the huge success of the games category, the two decided to close Justin.tv and move everything to a new site. The idea was to focus completely on video game streaming and Twitch.tv was born . Little by little, thanks mainly to new channels in continuous creation, Twitch has become the first video game streaming platform. The fame and the traffic it has generated over the years have prompted great marketing giants to collaborate. An epochal turning point occurred in 2014 whenAmazon bought Twitch for $ 970 million. Since then, thanks to new partnership projects and the link with Amazon Prime , the monopoly of this platform has definitively established itself.
The eSports TV
As mentioned, the very history of the platform has been conditioned by the remarkable and unexpected success that the streaming of video games has encountered . In this sense Twitch has evolved in tandem with eSports . Over the years, a perfect combination has been created between streaming and the world of virtual sports. The various MOBAs in addition to constituting the core of the concept of eSports, have become the most followed titles in streaming. Indeed, the habit has spread among many users of spending whole days watching streamers play rather than doing it in person. The link with eSports has therefore become increasingly close with the birth of official channels on Twitchof various eSports titles. All the competitions, from the national ones to the world championships, were broadcast on Twitch.tv even migrating from Youtube. This makes Twitch the true and only eSports TV today.
TwitchCon and Twitch Rivals
In 2015, the platform’s first annual conference dedicated to video game streaming was held : TwitchCon . Bringing together the major streamers, influencers and gaming organizations, the appointment with the was remarkably successful. Over the years it has been revived and during the same all the news about the platform have been announced from time to time . Just last week TwitchCon Europe 2019 was held in Berlin , the most followed in recent years. At the same time, the biggest events dedicated to Twitch and eSports took place for the first time live: the Twitch Rivals. These are eSports tournaments between the various nations represented by streamers and pro players. The Twitch Rivals of League of Legends and Apex Legends were held in Berlin . Italy had already made a good impression by literally dominating during the qualifiers.
The future of Twitch TV
Thanks to the Rivals, the fine line that binds the competitive esports to the world of streaming is thinning more and more. Now Twitch is no longer just the eSports TV but is becoming a real absolute reference in this world. The communities of the platform and the various streamers are expanding more and more. By now we could define Twitch as the real Social of eSports . There is no shortage of news also in terms of content. In recent times, new categories have emerged such as “Just chatting” in which streamers discuss each topic with the chat and with invited guests, a bit like in talk showstelevision. There is no shortage of music and art channels, in the last TwitchCon the news of the Twitch Sings dedicated to singing and karaoke was then announced . There is also a section dedicated to online poker and casino games in general . It is now clear that the future of the platform is bright, more than ever and full of content. We are sure that in a few years Twitch will go from being the TV of eSports to simply being the TV of young people and that’s it.
