Professional sports are big business on television, and are increasingly so on the Web as well. But there is a sport that has somewhat been overlooked until now: video gaming. Yes, it’s a sport. Or at least it’s an eSport.
Twitch TV
Just in time for the E3 Expo this week, Justin.tv has launched Twitch TV, a new vertical intended to act as a portal for the live streaming of competitive video games playing and a community base for ordinary gamers.
Twitch TV was quietly rolled out to those in the know a few months ago, but Justin.tv is now fully promoting it. Even in just the few months it has been up and running it has managed to gain millions of highly-engaged viewers.
The statistics are already pretty impressive, with 3.2 million unique viewers watching 45 million streams in total, 4.5-hours of video each on average. Up to 80,000 will watch an event concurrently, which is on a par with some of Justin.tv’s news events.
Live Streaming Video Games
Justin.tv has been home to live streaming video game competitions and online matches for a while, and it didn’t take the company long to realize there was a huge potential market there. To truly take advantage of that potential a new vertical with its own URL and branding was required.
Those who aren’t into video games must be wondering what the appeal is in watching other people playing, even if it is for money and on a professional basis. But it’s really the same as being average at football or baseball and then tuning into see how the pros do it. The only differences being that it all happens in a virtual environment and physical endurance doesn’t come into it.
In terms of money professional gaming can be big business, with cash prizes on offer to the best individuals and teams. Twitch TV is another source of revenue for these players as Justin.tv is splitting the ad revenue for these streams.
Conclusions
Twitch TV isn’t going to appeal to everyone, but there are millions of gamers out there who will lap it up. Thanks to mid-roll ads and potential pay-per-view and subscription models on their way, this could be a money-spinner for Justin.tv.
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