From PC World: The saga is over. Twitch, the game-focused video streaming service indeed has a new owner, as has long been rumored, and yes, the selling price was right around the $1 billion everybody was whispering about. But the earlier leaks got one oh-so-crucial detail wrong: On Monday, it was Amazon announcing a deal to buy Twitch for $970 million—not YouTube.
It’s a bit of a shock. Variety and The Wall Street Journal both initially reported that it was Google in talks to buy Twitch, and VentureBeat went so far as to call it a sealed deal a month ago. Apparently not; earlier Monday, WSJ and The Information reported that the Google-Twitch talks had cooled, and then BAM! Amazon made its grand announcement.
“We chose Amazon because they believe in our community, they share our values and long-term vision, and they want to help us get there faster,” Twitch CEO Emmett Shear wrote in a statement of his own. “We’re keeping most everything the same: our office, our employees, our brand, and most importantly our independence. But with Amazon’s support we’ll have the resources to bring you an even better Twitch.”
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