Amazon Launches Live Streaming for Businesses

AWS launches IVS product, based on Twitch live streaming service

You might remember last month when we speculated if Amazon was repackaging its Twitch live streaming technology for businesses. Well, we didn’t have to wait long for the confirmation.

With this press release, Amazon Web Services have officially announced their Interactive Video Service (IVS). IVS is a new product that aims to allow brands to easily create live video content, but in a much more personalised way that streaming platforms such as Twitch or YouTube allow. However, backing this up will be the powerful and versatile Twitch streaming technology, which has proven itself a hit with audiences for everything from eSports to Bob Ross re-runs.

“Customers have been asking to use Twitch’s video streaming technology on their own platforms for a range of use cases like education, retail, sports, fitness, and more,” said Martin Hess, GM, Amazon IVS. “Now with Amazon IVS, customers can leverage the same innovative technology that has taken Twitch over a decade to build and refine. Any developer can build an interactive live streaming experience into their own application without having to manage the underlying video infrastructure.”

If branded live streaming wasn’t heavily in demand last year, the consequences of the global Covid-19 pandemic have certainly highlighted a growing need to remotely engage with customers and clients. Currently, one of the biggest media conventions in the world, San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) is in the middle of its “Comic-Con@Home” event, streaming panels and events that would usually be attended by up to 150,000 to an international audience. It’s not hard to imagine a future where large fan or industry gatherings such as these evolve into online-only events, or have streaming as one of their primary focuses. Amazon, one of the major sponsors of the Comic-Con@Home event, sure seems to think so.