New data shows just how popular the game-streaming service Twitch has become.

Twitch, which was recently purchased by Amazon for a nearly a billion dollars, is posting viewer numbers that rival ratings for some of the biggest cable networks in the world. A recent New York Times article shows the explosive growth of Twitch, and compares it to peak-hour viewership for cable networks like CNN, E!, MSNBC, TruTV, and MTV. In recent months Twitch's peak viewership has hovered around 700,000 concurrent viewers. This is better than CNN (495,000), E! (565,000), and is starting to compete with MTV (773,000). The story also shows that Twitch viewership has more than doubled in the space of only two years.

[Source: New York Times via Joystiq]





Our Take

Well, Amazon didn't spend $970 million dollars for nothing. The breakout success of Twitch is unlike anything we've seen. It's an Internet success story that's quickly becoming on par with sites like eBay and YouTube, which are now a part of everyday life for millions worldwide. It will be interesting to see if the Amazon deal affects this growth, but for now Twitch looks like a juggernaut that will be hard to stop.