Twitch a subsidiary of Amazon, just acquired social networking platform Bebo for an amount close to $25 million. Together with Bebo, Twitch aims to work on its esports business and for Twitch Rivals series promotion. As per the contract, Twitch will retain all the employees of Bebo (10 currently) and IP.
Twitch wasn’t the only oneinterested in acquiring Bebo, some sources suggest that Discord and Facebook were also in the race, with Facebook offering close to $20 Million.
Founded in 2005, Bebo had a very good start and quickly became most popular social networking site of the time, easily beating competition like MySpace. Bebo reported more than 10 million active users in its prime. But soon the site saw its demise, with Facebook quickly coming up and gaining more traction among users. Bebo quickly lost its lead and was later bought by AOL, who sold Bebo after 2 years citing lack of profitability and decline in service.
Since 2017 Bebo is producing its own software called Bebo Streaming Software, an all-in-one app that let its users stream their gaming sessions directly on Twitch something similar to OBS and Xsplit. Recently, Bebo shifted its interest in organising and hosting tournaments for streamers.
Following the acquisition, Twitch will be using Bebo and its staff for Twitch Rivals series. Twitch Rivals features a series of competitive events aimed at streamers. Rivals will group streamers across the games and have them play competitive matches.
Twitch Rivals currently hosts events for titles such as Apex Legends, Dota 2, Rainbow Six Siege, NBA 2K19, Hearthstone and PUBG.
