YouTube is said to be relaunching its livestreaming service with a change in focus from sporting events to video gaming, making it a challenge to the likes of Twitch.
The site started live broadcasts in 2010 but, although they still exist, they’ve been heavily downplayed in recent years. Events have largely been either public speeches that are also broadcasted on TV (such as the State of the Union address) or sports events such as cricket that have international appeal but are considered niche in countries such as the US.
Last year Google was said to be offering a billion dollars to buy out video game streaming site Twitch. Nothing came of the deal, which some sources suggested may have been because of possible antitrust issues. Amazon instead made the purchase for $970 million.
Now The Daily Dot reports that YouTube plans to recruit 50 people with specialist knowledge of live streaming to relaunch YouTube Live as a primarily gaming platform.
The inevitable YouTube-Twitch battle seems tough to call. YouTube has the obvious advantages of a big war chest, a large potential audience to target, and a rock-solid infrastructure (for recorded content at least.) On the other hand, Twitch has a four-year headstart, an established audience, and ongoing deals with professional gaming leagues.
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