Twitter confirms acquisition of streaming service Periscope

Twitter confirmed on Friday that it has acquired the live streaming service Periscope. There have been rumors about this for some time. It is not known what Twitter has put on the table for the service.

Periscope offers a live streaming app that allows mobile devices to stream images to Twitter. That stream can be public or private, and can be shared with followers by means of a link. Followers can then comment while watching. In addition, they can watch the stream later. Twitter CEO Kevin Weil confirmed the acquisition of Periscope in a tweet on Friday. In it, he indicated that the company is now officially part of Twitter. Rumors about this have been circulating for some time. It appears that Twitter acquired Periscope back in January, but has only just now confirmed the acquisition.

Excited to officially welcome @periscopeco to the Twitter team. Can’t wait for everyone to see what they’ve built! https://t.co/6eAJjpXmaS

— Kevin Weil (@kevinweil) March 13, 2015
It is not known why Twitter set its sights on the streaming service. US media suggests that the company behind the social media site initiated the acquisition in order to better compete with Meerkat, which offers a similar service to Periscope.