YouTube's acquisition of Twitch is expected to open the door to the live streaming service market

According to foreign media reports, as of now, although YouTube has not officially confirmed the news on Sunday that the company plans to acquire video game live streaming service provider Twitch for US$1 billion in cash, it is believed that many content publishers and YouTube employees will be happy about the exposure of the rumor - because the acquisition of Twitch may fully unleash YouTube's potential in the field of live streaming.

YouTube's online live broadcast service was first launched in 2010. Google opened the service to all content providers the following year. However, due to video quality issues, publishers rarely chose to use YouTube as a live broadcast platform except for a few press conferences. Disney is the best example. The company once wanted to create a professional YouTube live broadcast channel, but eventually chose to give up due to various technical reasons. So in a sense, the YouTube Live live broadcast service has never really been launched.

YouTube quietly removes live streaming site

Earlier this year, YouTube quietly removed any links and descriptions of live streaming services on the website without any users noticing. Before that, users could see all live streaming channels on the YouTube platform through the URL YouTube.com/Live. But now, when users visit the URL again, they can only see an error page (Editor's note: the original text says it is an error page, but after actually visiting it, they are redirected to the live streaming service page under their personal account).

YouTube's live content aggregation page still exists . But its live content can no longer be called "blockbusters". Most of the content providers in the news live section are from South Korea, Russia and Armenia - this cannot attract mainstream users or bring huge advertising expenditures to the company.

There are occasionally some interesting sports events in the live sports section, but other than that, YouTube Live mostly offers non-English or audio-only content, and the picture quality is very worrying. Since there is no way to discover live content, the concept of ratings on the YouTube Live platform is still just a piece of paper for any program provider.

Connect with cable TV

YouTube still provides special live streaming services for some high-profile events, such as the Coachella Music Festival. In 2012, Felix Baumgartner's 39,000-meter skydive was live-streamed on YouTube as a headline event, and the live broadcast set a record of more than 8 million viewers notified online. The White House and other organizations also like to use YouTube as a live streaming platform to broadcast some press conferences and news events.

YouTube had high hopes for its live-streaming platform. When it invested $100 million in 2011 to create original content, it also invested in My Damn Channel Live, a daily comedy show, promising to run it like a cable network.

In 2012, YouTube opened its own production base in Los Angeles and considered using it to further penetrate the field of live video. YouTube then hired experienced producers from TWIT and PJTV to create a regularly broadcast live program, just like the fixed programs of cable TV channels.

Small money for big potential

But YouTube's original live shows eventually died, and My Damn Channel Live was shelved indefinitely nine months after its launch. One of the problems is that YouTube can't make money from live content. In theory, live broadcasts can keep viewers on the site longer, which can help the site increase advertising rates to levels close to traditional TV.

But in reality, live streaming services have not brought YouTube a large enough audience to guarantee advertising prices, and YouTube's decentralized live streaming characteristics have not helped the company convince major copyright holders. Ustream and Livestream.com, two pioneers of online video live streaming services, have learned this the hard way. Now both companies have abandoned their traditional pre-loaded ads and turned to native content monetization and enterprise markets as their main means of profit.

Unlike the two pioneers of live video services mentioned above, Twitch is an exception that makes money by pre-loading ads. The platform has achieved rapid growth in its user base by providing highly attractive content to young audiences. In addition, Twitch's audience base is young, which is also a target that advertisers are eager to compete for.

Reports emerged over the weekend that Twitch is on track to become profitable this year.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.