Twitch means ‘contract’, ‘move’ or ‘nervous contraction’.
This Anglicism is also known to refer to Twitch Tv, a popular web platform for streaming of video games, eSports, and video game-related events. Its content can be viewed live or on demand.
The name of this platform is inspired by the reaction time of “twitch gameplay” players.
Twitch Tv is the main competitor of YouTube platform, and, although its specialty is content related to video games, since 2020 TwitchTv has gained greater popularity and scope by presenting general interest streaming.
Twitch Web Platform
Justin.Tv launched on June 6, 2011 Twitch.Tv as a by-product designed “to support the e-sports community” by Emmett Shear (co-founder of Justin Tv) for video game fans and to attract new fans.
Twitch.Tv, by 2013, became the most popular streaming portal for eSport (electronic sports), especially after the closure of its direct competition, Own3d.Tv. In the middle of that same year, Twitch received more than 43 million visits per month.
2014 was a milestone year for this platform as it had the fourth largest source of Internet traffic behind Netflix, Google and Apple in the United States. Subsequently, Twitch’s parent company, Justin.Tv, Inc was renamed as Twitch Interative.
Amazon.com acquired Twitch Interative in September 2014 for $ 970 million, this being the third purchase aimed at video games, after Reflexive Entertainment and Double Helix Games.