Justin.tv
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Live streaming |
| Founded | 2007 |
| Founder | Justin Kan, Emmett Shear, Michael Seibel, Kyle Vogt |
| Headquarters | San Francisco , United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | Live video broadcasting platform |
Justin.tv was a live-streaming service established in 2007 by entrepreneurs Justin Kan, Emmett Shear, Michael Seibel, and Kyle Vogt. Headquartered in San Francisco, the startup obtained initial funding through Paul Graham’s Y Combinator program, followed by Series A investments from Alsop Louie Partners and Draper Associates. The platform enabled users to launch their own "channels" for live video broadcasting, accommodating a wide variety of user-generated content.
At its inception, Justin.tv consisted of a single channel featuring founder Justin Kan’s continuous 24/7 life broadcast, introducing the concept of lifecasting. Over time, the site evolved into a network hosting thousands of individual channels. Broadcasting was free and accessible to unlimited viewers, with no registration required to watch most streams; however, content deemed potentially offensive was restricted to registered users aged 18 and above. The platform maintained rigorous policies banning defamation, adult content, copyright infringement, and unlawful activities.
In June 2011, the company separated its gaming-related content into a distinct platform named Twitch.tv. Reflecting this new direction, the parent company rebranded as Twitch Interactive in February 2014 to concentrate on Twitch’s expanding audience. Subsequently, Justin.tv ceased operations in August 2014 to dedicate full resources toward Twitch, which Amazon acquired later that same month. This strategic pivot represented a major milestone in the company’s growth and repositioned it within the international live-streaming sector.
Origins in lifecasting
The original Justin.tv featured founder Justin Kan wearing a webcam affixed to a baseball cap, streaming live audio and video around the clock beginning March 19, 2007. This streaming technology was engineered by co-founder Kyle Vogt. Kan engaged with viewers through chat interactions, attracting media coverage including appearances on programs like the Today Show and Nightline. This groundbreaking lifecasting initiative established Justin.tv as a pioneer in live streaming innovation.
Kan’s continuous broadcast drew parallels to cultural phenomena such as The Truman Show. Early prominent lifecasters included iJustine, who expanded her presence into a successful YouTube career amassing over 7 million subscribers, and JoeInIraq, who offered distinctive warzone footage. These creators showcased the platform’s versatility and potential market appeal.
Platform growth
By mid-2007, Justin.tv had grown from one channel to a network featuring more than 60 channels, adding roughly two new broadcasters daily by August. The content spanned several countries including Australia, Brazil, the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, and Sweden. The service supported diverse formats such as lifecasting and event streaming, broadening its audience reach.
On October 2, 2007, Justin.tv opened its network for public registration and broadcasting access, significantly boosting user-generated content volume. By April 2008, the platform had onboarded approximately 30,000 broadcasters. To improve user experience and engagement, categorized content streams—such as Sports, Music & Radio, Gaming, and News & Tech—were introduced in March 2008.
Additional feature enhancements included user-managed networks with moderation capabilities (launched June 2008 but discontinued in March 2010), along with a "Headlines" tool for community-driven reporting on notable broadcasts (introduced October 2008). A streamlined redesign rolled out in July 2009 enhanced usability and chat interface visibility. In April 2010, Justin.tv added "Past Broadcasts," allowing archived viewing for seven days unless marked for permanent retention.
In June 2011, Justin.tv strategically divested its gaming segment into a dedicated site named Twitch.tv to target the rapidly expanding esports and gaming community. This decision aligned with the company’s strategy to focus on high-growth niche markets. On February 10, 2014, the parent entity rebranded as Twitch Interactive to reflect this strategic realignment and market emphasis.
Technology
Justin.tv utilized Adobe Flash technology to facilitate direct webcam streaming with automatic detection for its users. It also accommodated a variety of third-party broadcasting software such as QuickTime Broadcaster, Camtwist, D3DGear Broadcaster, Flash Media Encoder, Wirecast, FFSplit Broadcaster, XSplit Broadcaster, and VLC, which allowed streamers to improve video quality and apply visual effects.
The service featured adaptive bitrate adjustment based on the broadcaster’s available bandwidth, while also providing manual bitrate controls. Streaming through browsers was limited to 1,000kbps for video and 44 kHz for audio. For comparison, at that time YouTube’s high-quality streams typically ranged between 400 and 500 kbps, with 720p HD streams reaching approximately 2,000 kbps. More advanced encoders like Flash Media Encoder and QuickTime Broadcaster enabled higher bitrates and 720p H.264 streaming.
A redesign implemented in July 2009 expanded the default video player size on channels from 468×353 pixels to a widescreen format of 630×353 pixels, enhancing the viewing experience for audiences.
Content accessibility
Each Justin.tv channel could embed an HTML snippet that included both video and chat features for integration into external websites, with broadcasters having the option to disable this embedding per channel. Following the release of its API in August 2009, Justin.tv supplied Flash SWF files to developers, enabling them to incorporate Justin.tv video streams into their own Flash-based applications.
Localization
While the core platform operated primarily in English, it was fully translated into Catalan and Spanish. Additionally, more than half of the site’s content was translated into seventeen other languages, supporting a broad international user base.
Criticisms
Although Justin.tv complied with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, it encountered criticism over perceived shortcomings in enforcing copyright protections. In August 2009, the platform partnered with Fox to deploy real-time stream filtering technology from Vobile aimed at detecting and removing infringing videos and channels.
During the initial lifecasting period, founder Justin Kan was subjected to prank calls that resulted in false emergency dispatches, leading him to change his phone number for safety reasons. In July 2008, a security vulnerability involving cross-site scripting was identified by a security group; Justin.tv worked swiftly with them to address and fix the issue.
In 2011, sports promoter Zuffa filed a lawsuit against Justin.tv concerning unauthorized streaming of pay-per-view UFC events. By March 2012, most claims were dismissed except those related to copyright infringement. The parties reached a confidential settlement in April 2012, concluding the dispute.
Suicide broadcast
On November 19, 2008, Abraham K. Biggs, aged 19, died by suicide during a live broadcast on his Justin.tv channel after consuming an overdose of opiates and benzodiazepines. He had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and shared a suicide note online prior to the event. Subsequently, his father suggested that viewers who watched bore partial responsibility for his death.
Justin.tv CEO Michael Seibel issued a statement:
We deeply regret this tragic event and honor the privacy of the broadcaster and his family. Our guidelines discourage distressing material and rely on community monitoring. This content was flagged by users, reviewed by our team, and removed in accordance with our terms of service.