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.
Justin.tv, the webcam streaming service that birthed (and is now arguably dwarfed by) videogame streaming site Twitch, is killing off one of its core features today. As of June 8th, Justin.tv will no longer let hosts record their streams for viewers to catch later — and as of the same day, all previously recorded streams will be deleted. Why? Because, as far as they can tell, pretty much no one is actually watching streams after the fact. The company says that 50% of archived streams had 0 to 1 views, and the “vast majority” beyond that had less than 10 views. In other words, it’s just not worth it for them to keep supporting the feature and paying for the video storage. If you’ve got any videos sittin’ in your Justin.tv account that you don’t want to lose, you’ve got 7 days to grab them. Interestingly, they’re not even leaving the feature up for those willing to pay. In an FAQ, the company notes that they’re killing off archiving for everyone, including their $10-per-month premium users.
