Amazon Announces Purchase of Twitch

In news that will come as no shock to those who have noticed Amazon’s recent attempts to expand outside of their traditional online retailer market, the company has announced the purchase of the video game streaming website Twitch in a deal that is reported to be in the region of $900 million.

The company, which in recent years has also acquired LoveFilm and incorporated it into the Amazon Prime brand as a means of getting into the streaming market, will see the purchase as an opportunity to expand the services offered by Twitch in addition to providing a ready made source of advertising for some of the products that appear on the traditional Amazon website.

For those who are unaware of Twitch, it is a website that is dedicated to gaming, providing the means for gamers to stream live video of themselves playing their favourite games, often with an audio commentary if the player is that way inclined. The website has attracted a steady following over the last few months, with many reports claiming that is amongst the most popular and visited websites in the world at this point in time.

It also acts as a valuable social outreach for many gamers, who can communicate their thoughts and feelings on their favourite subject in addition to meeting like-minded souls through their interactions on the site.

With the purchase it is believed that Amazon will look into ways to expand the service using the considerable amount of capital that they have at their disposal, though no fresh ideas are currently making their way down the drainpipe.

What may be of considerable concern to users of the previously independent site is the potential for videos to now be preempted with advertisements in a similar fashion to those that are uploaded to YouTube. After all, Amazon has npt made such a marked investment to simply keep the site running as it was. They will aim to make it profitable and prominent advertising is likely one of the first steps that the company will look to take, especially with such a wide audience available.

That wide audience will also provide value in other areas, creating a ready-made stream of data for market researchers to figure out what is currently trendy in the world of gamers. In addition to the details entered by users when they sign up to the site, Amazon will now have access to information regarding the videos they watch and upload, which could go some way to creating a database relating to their interests that it is easy to imagine Amazon using for marketing activities.

It’s an important period for the website and Amazon will need to be wary of alienating the following that it has already built up.