RiP Twitch in China

The Chinese government doesn’t like it when western media companies enter the state, mostly because it can’t control the distributed content. Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and many other media services have long been banned in the country.

According to Abacus News, Twitch has joined the club of media giants blocked in China. Last month the saw a huge swing in views as millions of Chinese netizens watched Asian Games, an international sports event with gaming competitions. Since state broadcasters refused to air Esports matches, viewers were turning to Twitch.

The Twitch app hit #3 in the top free list on iOS App Store as viewers tried to access the streams.

Chinese citizens are appalled by the government’s decision to block an online streaming service focused on gaming. People see this move as another crackdown on free speech, ordered by the country leader Xi Jinping.

Some Weibo users think that Twitch was blocked in China because of harsh arguments people had in the chat. Asians are famously excitable about sports and during Asian Games, there were many negative comments passed between Chinese and South Korean viewers.

Chinese esports fans will have to rely on local streaming platforms that are controlled by the government to cover huge Esports events in the future.