Elijah Nouvelage/Reuters
Amazon wants to catapult the next generation of internet stars, and it's positioning its video-game streamer Twitch to do just that.
According to Bloomberg, Amazon is going after exclusive livestreaming deals with media companies, YouTube stars, and Hollywood talent like Will Smith in an effort to expand Twitch beyond its niche of video games.
As Bloomberg pointed out, Twitch has a long road ahead if it wants to go toe-to-toe with YouTube - the largest ad-supported video site in the world with 1.9 billion monthly viewers - but even YouTube has caught on to Twitch's appeal (it introduced paid subscriptions after Twitch did).
Twitch is largely a platform for people to play video games and stream them live for others to watch. Many have found success on the site similar to famous YouTube personalities.
But that's not the site's only use, and CEO Emmett Shear is looking to the future. Bloomberg reported, based on anonymous sources who were at a recent meeting, that Shear set a target of $1 billion in ad sales for Twitch, which would double its current ad sales.
Twitch has a loyal user base, and there are already plenty of Twitch stars with huge followings. Popular internet personality and streamer, Ninja, for example, makes at least $560,000 a month, Forbes estimated - and that was in March. Amazon Prime subscribers are allowed to donate to his Twitch stream, plus he has a popular YouTube channel. And Twitch star Summit1g revealed his donation total in a stream last year to be over $208,000 at the time.
Below are the nine biggest Twitch stars, some of whom are making millions: