Reduced viewership and subscription money leaves Twitch insiders worried about more layoffs and becoming a 'zombie brand' under Amazon's fold
MANILA, Philippines – After 10 years as part of Amazon, livestreaming website Twitch fails to make money, a new report states, with insiders afraid of further layoffs.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Monday, July 29, that Twitch head Dan Clancy said the service remained unprofitable, with less viewership and money coming in. WSJ added Amazon received “little financial return from one of its biggest acquisitions.”
Amazon acquired Twitch in August 2014 for about $970 million.
Even after job cuts in January, which saw about 500 Twitch staffers laid off, the service is still struggling to make money, with insiders worried about further layoffs and Twitch becoming a “zombie brand” that Amazon will retain but sideline due to underperformance.
Peter Kafka of Business Insider, citing an unnamed livestreaming veteran, pointed out that Twitch had its chance to be the singular place for livestreaming, but failed to capitalize on its ubiquity.
Now, livestreaming is more readily a norm for different sorts of sites and services — from YouTube to Kick to TikTok — and streamers don’t want to rely on just one service to make their money, choosing to diversify their streaming and video-sharing options if it can be helped.
Despite the bad news, a spokeswoman for Amazon said in the WSJ report the company remains confident in the potential of Twitch.
The question of whether Twitch will become a bit player or ascend to the top of streaming and find marked profitability, however, will depend on how its bosses – and the streamers using it – will rise to the challenges it faces now, and whatever might come next. – Rappler.com
