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Appropriating Play: Examining Twitch.Tv As a Commercial Platform Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 5-17-2019 1:00 PM Appropriating Play: Examining Twitch.tv as a Commercial Platform Charlotte Panneton The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Hearn, Alison The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in Media Studies A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Master of Arts © Charlotte Panneton 2019 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Communication Technology and New Media Commons Recommended Citation Panneton, Charlotte, "Appropriating Play: Examining Twitch.tv as a Commercial Platform" (2019). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 6245. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/6245 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Appropriating Play: Examining Twitch.tv as a Commercial Platform Charlotte Panneton Master of Arts in Media Studies Faculty of Information and Media Studies University of Western Ontario 2019 Abstract This thesis critically analyzes Twitch.tv, a gaming-oriented, online live-streaming site. Viewing the site as a ‘lean platform’ (Srnicek, 2017), it analyzes many aspects of Twitch’s business operations, including ownership structure, video game industry affiliations, use of data, and the monetization of user activity. This analysis then identifies three major areas of concern arising from these operations: the tendency toward monopolization in the gaming industry and its peripheral activities; the intensification of audience commodification; and, the tendency to turn professional streamers into precarious creative labourers. All of these implications point to a growing need for concerted labour organization. The goal of this thesis is to address gaps in the existing literature about Twitch and to provide a foundation for future critical inquiries into the site. Keywords Twitch.tv, live-streaming, video game industry, platform capitalism, new media Acknowledgments I need to express my greatest thanks to my supervisor, Dr. Alison Hearn. I am grateful for you for your guidance and direction throughout this, at times, arduous thesis writing process, and for helping me grow as a student and aspiring academic. I would also like to extend my thanks to my examining committee – Drs. Annabel Quan-Haase, Edward Comor, Tracey Adams and Susan Knabe. Je tiens à remercier ma famille pour leur encouragement et leur support continuel au long de ce projet – en effet, sans vous, je n’y serais pas arrivée. I’d also like to thank my Media Studies Master’s cohort for being an amazing personal and academic support system (howdy, howdy, howdy), and my colleagues in FIMS, for the guidance provided over Grad Club beers. Finally, I’d like to thank my partner, Stephanie, for seeing me through the all the frustrations, uncertainties, thrills, and eventual successes that come from this type of undertaking – je t’aime. ii Table of Contents Acknowledgments ......................................................................................................................... ii Table of Contents ......................................................................................................................... iii List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ v Chapter 1 Approaching Twitch.tv ............................................................................................... 1 Background and Theoretical Considerations ..................................................................... 3 1.1 Brief Description of Twitch.tv ................................................................................................... 3 1.2 Market Valuation and Position ................................................................................................. 4 1.3 Literature Review ...................................................................................................................... 5 1.4 Research Orientation ............................................................................................................... 10 1.5 Methodological Considerations ............................................................................................... 11 1.6 Theoretical Framework ........................................................................................................... 11 1.6.1 The Audience Commodity ..................................................................................................... 12 1.6.2 Labour and Value .................................................................................................................. 14 Chapter 2 A Critical Analysis of Twitch.tv .............................................................................. 17 Twitch as a Lean Platform ................................................................................................. 17 Ownership ............................................................................................................................ 19 3.1 History of Ownership ............................................................................................................... 19 3.2 Implications of Amazon’s Ownership .................................................................................... 22 3.2.1 Amazon Integration ............................................................................................................... 24 Video Game Industry Affiliations ..................................................................................... 27 4.1 Console Integration .................................................................................................................. 28 4.2 Advertising and Promotional Initiatives ................................................................................ 30 4.3 eSports ....................................................................................................................................... 36 Use of Data ........................................................................................................................... 39 5.1 ‘Big Data’ and Personally-Identifiable Information ............................................................. 40 5.2 Twitch’s Privacy Policy ........................................................................................................... 42 User Activity and Monetization ......................................................................................... 45 6.1 Viewers ...................................................................................................................................... 45 6.2 Streamers .................................................................................................................................. 46 iii 6.2.1 Twitch Affiliates .................................................................................................................... 47 6.2.2 Twitch Partners ...................................................................................................................... 48 6.2.3 Professionalization of Game Streaming ................................................................................ 50 6.3 Streaming as Outsourced, Creative, Entrepreneurial, and Emotional Labour ................. 50 Chapter 3 Market Infiltration, User Commodification and Precariousness ......................... 54 Video Game Industry Infiltration ..................................................................................... 54 7.1 Game Streaming and eSports ................................................................................................. 55 7.2 Video Game Promotion ........................................................................................................... 56 7.3 Data and Preferences ............................................................................................................... 57 7.4 Amazon Lumberyard and Web Services ............................................................................... 58 Audience Commodification ................................................................................................ 59 8.1 Audience Commodification on Twitch ................................................................................... 60 Sources of Harm and Potential Protections ...................................................................... 62 9.1 Precariousness and Self-Exploitation ..................................................................................... 63 9.2 Avenues for User Protections .................................................................................................. 67 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 70 10.1 Suggestions for Further Research .......................................................................................... 71 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................ 74 iv List of Figures Fig. 1 – A screenshot of Twitch user Tinny’s channel broadcasting live on Twitch.tv Fig. 1b – Average concurrent viewers by platform, Q4 2017 &
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