Dive Brief:
- Anonymous sources told TechCrunch that Twitter is urging celebrities and publishers to switch from live-streaming video app Meerkat to Twitter-owned app Periscope.
- One source reportedly said, “Twitter hounds every celebrity after they try Meerkat. Almost to the point of stalking.”
- Twitter didn't respond to the allegations at the time of publishing, but Meerkat responded to previous rumors that it contacted popular Vine users to promote the streaming app. CEO Ben Rubin said any contact with Vine users was for a previous app called Yevvo, and said Meerkat has contacted "zero people."
Dive Insight:
The battle between live-streaming video apps heats up with this new development. Twitter already appeared intimidated by Meerkat when it shut off the rival app's access to its automatic tweet function, but later reinstated it.