Twitch today announced that the Justin.tv website, mobile apps, and APIs are no longer in service. A very simple explanation is given for the shutdown: since rebranding the company to Twitch Interactive in February 2014, all resources are now focused on Twitch.tv.
The news today will almost certainly further fuel the rumors that Google is acquiring, or has already acquired, Twitch. Purchases are often followed by consolidation, as well as cutting off any excess limbs.
Regardless of the reason, Justin.tv is officially dead today. Here is what you need to know if you’d like to salvage your account:
Your account is now closed, and you will be unable to access any settings or content. If you used your justin.tv account to login to Twitch, the account will still work on Twitch; however, we encourage you to complete this form to have your account transferred to Twitch for full site use. Request to transfer account must be received by Friday, September 5, 2014.
Please be reminded today, Twitch is site for gaming-related content only. Refer to the Twitch TOS for more info on content guidelines. For more information on transferring your account to Twitch, see below.
Justin.tv was created by Justin Kan, Emmett Shear, Michael Seibel and Kyle Vogt in March 2007. It started as a single channel featuring Kan, who broadcast his life 24/7 and popularized the term lifecasting, but quickly switched to allowing anyone to broadcast live video content (called “broadcasts”) through user accounts (called “channels”). Based in San Francisco, the company has received seed funding from Paul Graham of seed capital firm Y Combinator and Series A funding with Alsop Louie Partners and Draper Associates.
Much of Twitch’s success is a result of what the team learned with Justin.tv: users can broadcast to an unlimited number of people for free and watch broadcasts without registering. Regardless of Twitch’s future, a short chapter of Internet history has ended today.
Top Image Credit: Miguel Villagran/Getty Images
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