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© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Kids playground miniatures are seen in entrance of displayed Twitch brand on this illustration taken April 4, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Picture
By Hyunsu Yim
(Reuters) – Amazon (NASDAQ:)’s streaming unit Twitch on Tuesday mentioned it would shut down operations in South Korea in February subsequent 12 months, as a consequence of excessive working prices and community charges.
“Twitch has been working in Korea at a big loss, and sadly there is no such thing as a pathway ahead for our enterprise to run extra sustainably in that nation,” CEO Dan Clancy mentioned in a weblog.
Community charges in Korea are nonetheless 10 instances dearer than in most different nations, he mentioned, including that the corporate spent important effort working to cut back working prices to stay in enterprise.
South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT (Info and Communication Expertise) mentioned in an announcement that community utilization charges had been being reviewed as “a complete matter that requires consideration of the sustainable growth of the web community, the content material trade and person comfort”.
The ministry didn’t remark immediately on Twitch’s choice to finish its operations.
The talk over who ought to foot the invoice for elevated site visitors utilization has seen international know-how giants conflict with native web suppliers in South Korea.
Earlier this 12 months, Netflix (NASDAQ:) and South Korean web service supplier SK Broadband withdrew lawsuits towards one another over community utilization charges.
In 2022, Twitch restricted video decision in South Korea, a rustic with a booming esports scene and use of on-line videogames, citing rising working prices.
Shares of Afreeca TV, a South Korean streaming platform and competitor, closed up practically 30 % on Wednesday following the announcement.
Twitch had laid off greater than 400 staff in March after its person and income progress didn’t meet expectations.
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