The broadcasting game just lost a major player, although some believe the writing was on the wall some time ago.

Twitch, which acquired broadcasting channel Justin.tv some time ago, finally pulled the plug on the channel this week. A farewell message has been posted over on www.justin.tv, celebrating its legacy one last time and thanking the devoted fans who stuck with it all these years.

For seven years, Justin.tv was the original "go to" service for broadcasters to interact with fans. However, it wasn't limited to game content. In fact, several users couldn't help but broadcast their favorite shows (such as staples like Big Bang Theory and other oddities) in order to chat with their friends. Others came up with original programming, which was quite popular with certain community members.

Eventually, though, Twitch came and dominated the broadcasting scene, achieving one million active monthly broadcasters and eventually purchasing the aging video network. Now, it's all but gone, as the broadcasters' videos are no more, and video on demand services were done away with June 15th.

"We are immensely proud of Justin.tv's legacy. Not only is it the birthplace of Twitch, but it was the pioneer of live video on the Internet," Twitch COO Kevin Lin said in a statement. "It holds a special place in our hearts, as well as a special place in the history of the Internet, and will be missed."

Those looking to broadcast game content are welcome with open arms on Twitch, while others will have to turn to YouTube and Ustream, as "Twitch is a site for gaming-related content only," according to the statement.

The farewell video is shown below.