You may have heard that Twitch founder Emmett Shear recently left his CEO role. So who‘s running the popular live streaming platform now?
The new Chief Executive of Twitch is Dan Clancy. He took over in 2022 after serving as President and head of Creator Experience.
But before we get into Clancy‘s plans, let‘s look back at Twitch‘s founding, Shear‘s net worth, and the platform‘s growth into a streaming giant under his leadership…
From Scrappy Startup to Streaming Leader
Back in 2011, entrepreneur Justin Kan launched a startup called Justin.tv alongside his friends Emmett Shear, Michael Seibel, and Kyle Vogt. Their goal was to create a site for continuous live streaming video.
The Justin.tv team noticed that gaming content was hugely popular on the platform. So in 2012, they decided to spin out a separate site focused entirely on video game live streaming.
That spinoff became Twitch – founded by Justin.tv co-founders Shear and Seibel along with Kevin Lin.
Shear took the helm as Twitch‘s first CEO, guiding the platform through exponential growth. By 2013, Twitch accounted for 4% of all internet traffic in the US – more than titans like Facebook, Hulu, and Amazon.
With over 55 million unique viewers per month, Twitch caught the eye of big tech companies looking to get into live streaming.
In 2014, Amazon won the bidding war to acquire Twitch for $970 million in cash. That massive acquisition made co-founder Emmett Shear incredibly wealthy…
Twitch Founder Emmett Shear‘s Net Worth Reaches 9 Figures
Emmett Shear was among the big winners when Amazon bought Twitch for nearly $1 billion.
Reports estimate that Shear took home around $90 million from the sale. Not bad for a three-year-old startup!
Since then, Shear has likely made tens of millions more in salary and stock as Twitch‘s CEO. He also has an ownership stake in San Francisco‘s esports franchise Shock worth millions.
While the exact details remain private, it‘s safe to say Shear‘s net worth sits comfortably in the hundreds of millions – if not higher.
Of course, the $970 million Amazon paid was for more than just Shear‘s stake. Reports revealed that…
- Justin.tv founder Justin Kan made over $66 million
- Early employee Kevin Lin took home over $40 million
- Michael Seibel pocketed around $11 million
Not bad for a handful of tech entrepreneurs still in their 20s!
The Twitch leadership team was handsomely rewarded. But more importantly, the Amazon sale validated their vision to transform live streaming for gaming.
Now they‘d have the tech and resources to grow even faster.
Twitch User and Viewership Stats
Under Shear‘s continued leadership, Twitch expanded massively after being acquired by Amazon.
Just look at how the platform and its usage has grown:
- In 2015, Twitch had over 100 million visitors per month
- By 2017, average concurrent viewership exceeded 600,000
- In 2019, Twitch hit over 3 million concurrent streamers
- As of 2022, Twitch reports over 30 million daily active users
The platform has also paid out over $9.8 billion to creators since launching.
Usage continues to rise as Twitch expands beyond just gaming into music, sports, talk shows, and more.
Today, Twitch represents over 70% of the live streaming market for viewing hours. To put their dominance into perspective:
- The closest rival, YouTube Gaming, has about 15% market share
- Facebook Gaming comes in at around 5%
Twitch also occupies 4 of the top 5 most-watched streaming categories:
| Rank | Category | % Viewership |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | GTA V | 37.9% |
| 2 | Just Chatting | 13.4% |
| 3 | League of Legends | 9.8% |
| 4 | Fortnite | 6.7% |
| 5 | CS:GO | 5.9% |
The platform has come incredibly far since scoring 4% of US internet traffic back in 2013.
But with explosive growth comes challenges…
Controversies and Criticisms
While Twitch has revolutionized live streaming, it hasn‘t been without some bumps along the road.
The platform has dealt with various controversies over the years:
- Copyright lawsuits from music publishers over unauthorized stream music
- Banning popular streamers like DrDisrespect over controversial or abusive behavior
- Criticism around inconsistent policy enforcement, especially around attire
- Toxic community issues like hate raids requiring improved moderation
Twitch has also dealt with data leaks exposing creator earnings and internal documents.
These stumbles have led some big streamers like Ninja to leave for competitor platforms like Mixer and YouTube.
However, Twitch remains dominant overall, and continues to learn from past issues.
As CEO, Emmett Shear guided Twitch through the challenges of quickly moderating a massive userbase. But after over a decade leading Twitch, Shear decided it was time for someone new to take charge…
Twitch Gets A New CEO – Enter Dan Clancy
In 2022, Twitch founder Emmett Shear announced he was stepping down as CEO.
Shear said leaving the top role would allow him to focus on his growing family. He had just welcomed a new baby girl.
Stepping in as Twitch‘s new Chief Executive is Dan Clancy. He joined the company in 2019 as EVP of Creator Experience.
Clancy was then promoted to President in 2021, before assuming the CEO role in 2022 when Shear departed.
He brings over 15 years of leadership experience at online media platforms:
- Held senior roles at YouTube and Google
- Oversaw business operations at digital ad company DoubleClick
According to Clancy, his priorities as Twitch‘s CEO include:
- Giving creators tools to be successful and build their brands for the long-term
- Enhancing communication and transparency between Twitch and its creators
- Strengthening partnerships and advertising offerings
Clancy leads a broader Twitch executive team focused on technology, content, monetization, and operations.
But while Twitch operates fairly independently, Clancy still reports to Amazon‘s senior leadership given they own the company.
What Does The Future Hold for Twitch and Live Streaming?
So what does the future look like for Twitch and the live streaming industry overall?
Here are a few of my predictions…
I expect Twitch will expand into new content verticals. Only around 25% of Twitch viewership is gaming content these days. Music, sports, talk shows, and "in real life" streams are growing.
To stay culturally relevant, Twitch will continue branching out beyond just gaming as they‘ve shown with Twitch Sings and creative content categories.
More competitors will emerge. YouTube Gaming is big, Facebook continues investing, and expect others like TikTok, Snapchat or traditional media companies to expand into live streaming.
But Twitch‘s early lead and passionate community put them in a strong position even against the deep pockets of Big Tech rivals.
Monetization innovation will be a priority. Twitch is reportedly testing features like paid channel subscriptions to offer creators more ways to monetize. Expect new forms of digital tips, merch, and exclusive content as well.
Of course, enhancing monetization without alienating viewers will be a tough balance.
Moderation and misconduct issues won‘t disappear. With over 2 million streamers and endless hours of content, keeping Twitch safe and brand-friendly at scale is an uphill battle.
Controversies around harmful content or streamer misconduct will remain a PR risk and policy challenge.
Amazon may get more involved. So far Amazon has taken a hands-off approach, allowing Twitch to operate independently.
But with live streaming heating up, don‘t be surprised if Amazon relies more on AWS technology or Prime subscription perks to accelerate growth.
Live streaming will fracture across platforms. Gaming content put Twitch on the map, but every major platform wants a piece of the live streaming pie moving forward.
Audiences and creators will disseminate across YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and more – making it harder for any one player to dominate.
Those are just a few prognostications! The fast-moving internet makes the future hard to predict.
But after more than a decade of leading Twitch, Emmett Shear felt it was time to pass the live streaming torch. Twitch now enters a new era under CEO Dan Clancy.
The platform faces challenges and competition, but sits in pole position to capitalize as live streaming enters the mainstream.
Clancy will aim to build on Twitch‘s passionate community and creator-first approach – just as Shear and the early team envisioned.
With over 5 million streamers and an engaged audience, Twitch remains the destination for gamers, artists, musicians, chefs, and anyone looking to forge community and break into streaming stardom.
The company‘s new leadership has big shoes to fill. But Twitch still wears the live streaming crown as it continues marching forward.
I don‘t know about you, but I‘m excited to see what the future of live streaming holds!
Let me know if you have any other thoughts on Twitch and where the industry is headed. I‘m always happy to chat more!
