2014 was a big year for Twitch. The streaming service was fought over by Amazon and Google and was eventually acquired by Amazon for more than $970 million. While this may seem like a hindrance for Google, it appears that the search giant is trying to get back into the video streaming business.
Sources say Google is looking to relaunch the YouTube Live streaming service for the e-sports audience The Daily Dot reported. The video-sharing website has hired over 50 engineers trained in streaming technology, and it plans to put its live-streaming service through a total redesign.
YouTube's live-streaming service has been around since 2010 and has been used to broadcast everything from the State of the Union addresses to Indian Cricket matches. However, the service is mostly used for " foreign language news, obscure sports events, or hastily assembled Hangouts sessions". So, it makes sense for YouTube to redesign its live-streaming service in order to focus on e-sports, one of today's rising markets.
"Gaming and esports in particular are going to be a big driving force for the new-look YouTube Live," one source told The Daily Dot. "There'll be huge opportunities for established streamers and organizations soon and I would say that the record numbers of esports viewers are only going to grow when Google start promoting and partnering with these events."
This isn't surprising, though. YouTube has an enormous gaming culture. A significant portion of the top 100 YouTube Channels are video game-related, and most e-sports teams and/or team members have accounts on the site where they host videos of their games, their tips and their own takes on things. YouTube was also a streamer for the 2013 League of Legends World Championship. With all of this in mind, it only makes sense that YouTube would extend its service to better engage this unique audience.
