Amazon goes one up on Google: Here’s why it acquired Twitch

Amazon, and not Google, has finally acquired Twitch.

The Amazon-Twitch deal comes as a big surprise as we were made to believe that Google has already sealed the deal. From reports about Google eyeing twitch for YouTube, buying the company secretly and staying tight lipped on the acquisition, we’ve heard it all. Moreover, Google’s YouTube buying Twitch made more sense. Now, most of us are wondering why would a company selling books, apparels and electronics would do with a video streaming service that lets gamers around the world connect by letting them broadcast gameplay videos.

However, one should know that Amazon has been growing over the years, and has been striving to expand its ecosystem. Now, with devices like Kindle ereaders and tablets and a smartphone in tow, the company could be looking to spruce up its app stores. Amazon devices are known to completely camouflage the Android OS and push in its services and app store. This means, with twitch, the company is possibly looking to create its own content for the devices.

“Amazon has gradually been building up its in-house video game studios, with mixed success. Games are a hugely popular use case on many mobile devices. Americans also spend upwards of $15 billion a year on video game content, according to data released earlier this year from NPD,” states a report by Mashable.  

Amazon has the option to create content and also snap up a company that already generates millions of views. Looks like, Amazon has opted for the latter in this case. Twitch is a video streaming service that lets gamers around the world connect by letting them broadcast gameplay videos, watch these broadcasts, and chat from wherever they play. Yes, it lets you watch others play a video game live, too, which has made some gamers celebrities in the Twitch circuit.  Though, it may sound odd, the concept has a vast following, and its popularity has rocketed since 2011.

Twitch is currently known to have over a million unique users broadcasting every month, and during peak hours, its traffic rivals and sometimes surpasses even Google. Twitch is a native app in both the PS4 and Xbox One consoles, both of which have sold over 12 million units, so Amazon has a big user base to tap into.

As traditional online advertising matures, the search giant is exploring new ad models to generate revenue. Online video advertising is considered one of the most promising sources of future growth for Internet companies. And with Twitch’s massive and highly-engaged user base, YouTube will have a lot more captivated users to shill ads to.

There were reports about how Amazon is preparing to take on Google in one of its core businesses, Internet advertising. Amazon is developing its own program to target ads using the information it gathers about the preferences of its customers and it will start testing the platform later this year. As traditional online advertising matures, Amazon could explore new ad models to generate revenue. Online video advertising is considered one of the most promising sources of future growth for Internet companies. And with Twitch’s massive and highly-engaged user base, Amazon will have a lot more captivated users to shill ads to.

Finally, Amazon is an ecommerce company, and it could easily use Twitch to attract buyers. The online gaming community is fairly large and quite active. So it is quite possible that the company may also use it as a marketing tool to sell its gaming products.