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Live streaming site Justin.tv removing all archived videos in a week

Live streaming site Justin.tv removing all archived videos in a week

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Live video broadcasting site Justin.tv is freeing up space. Lots of it. The site announced today that it will be deleting all archived broadcasts that are stored on its servers starting next week. That's seven years worth of video that's going into the recycling bin.

Those videos charter the site's rise from a small startup centered on live streaming co-founder Justin Kan's life 24/7 to a massive web destination that accounts for nearly two percent of all US internet traffic. However, Justin.tv is far different from what it once was. Most all of that traffic doesn't come from Justin.tv — one of its sub-channels dedicated to video games, Twitch, has essentially consumed its parent site. Earlier this year, the parent company renamed itself to Twitch Interactive to reflect the importance of the video game streaming site, and Google's reportedly offering $1 billion for the company.

For Justin.tv broadcasters, however, there are more pressing concerns: namely, their videos. In an article on its official blog, Justin.tv says that more than half of the archived live broadcasts it has have no more than one view. The "vast majority" have fewer than ten total views. After looking at the data, the company decided that "it’s quite clear ... viewers come to Justin.tv because they want to consume content and interact with their communities in real-time." That means that recordings of live broadcasts no longer have a home on the site, and, in a rather unusual move, the company's giving content owners a single week to save their recordings. If you're one of those people, the site's published a help page with instructions on how to download your videos. June 8th is the cutoff.