14 DAY TRIAL // It was a known fact that Twitter would try to take on Meerkat after the launch of its own streaming service, Periscope.
However, it seems that the social networking service is doing its best to make sure that it removes its competitor for good.
Various sources have declared that Twitter representatives have come forward to celebrities to assure them that Meerkat is slowly dying and that they had better start using Periscope, TechCrunch reports.
Furthermore, the publication also reveals that Twitter has even approached media companies and tried to force them into using Periscope, threatening that they would block their access to Amplify, a video advertising product that Twitter launched for companies and consumer brands in May 2013.
Twitter wants to finish off rival services
Apparently, Twitter wants to kill off Meerkat altogether, probably because they are still afraid of a possible rise in popularity that would diminish that of Periscope.
Quite recently, Meerkat managed to score a huge deal with Madonna, and although the launch of the pop star’s newest music video on the live video streaming service did not really go according to plan because of a rocky start, things did work out in the end.
The whole event was a great publicity stunt for Meerkat, with Madonna’s fans eagerly waiting to see the new music video, and the app turned it into the perfect moment to announce its newest feature: allowing broadcasters to add external links at the end of their streaming.
Although there is enough room for the two services to survive, it seems that Twitter does not want any competitors around its streaming app.
Meanwhile, Meerkat’s founder did declare for Recode that “We know what dying platform data looks like because we’ve seen it, and this is not that,” implying that despite what Twitter is trying to make people think, the platform is still alive and kicking.