Sources Say YouTube To Acquire Twitch Gaming Video Site for $1 Billion


TwitchYoutube, which was purchased by Google back in 2006, is seeking to acquire Twitch for a good $1 billion dollars. This could end up being the most significant purchase to-date for YouTube, which hasn’t made tons of moves as an independent entity before. That’s not much to say for its Google parent, who seems to make investments on everything under the sun. Even though The Wall Street Journal confirms the deal, both companies have declined to comment, and sources still support that it hasn’t happened yet. Still, gamers be warned! For the rest of us, wondering what Twitch is? Now on the most popular gaming site list, Twitch, which was originally a San Francisco subsidiary of Justin.tv, spun off into its own gaming network in 2011. It was one of the first websites to host “livestreaming user-generated video”, and ended up raising over $35 million in startup funding. In March 2014, Twitch represented an amazing 1.35% of all “downstream bandwidth on North American fixed-access broadband networks”. Today, over 45 million monthly viewers take part in this huge gaming broadcast.

Twitch1Yes, Twitch is a website that allows gamers to watch each other play video games (for free). What about that doesn’t sound exciting to you? If you know what it means to be a true gamer, it means watching footage of game play. The company also sells a monthly ad-free subscription for $9 per-month, and a $5 per-month subscription to individual channels. Twitch users stream various games; anything from Xbox to Playstation can be seen on the site for learning or entertainment purposes. The site receives more hits during peak hours than Facebook and Amazon. Additionally, Twitch has a role in the “e-sports” market, where it covers live professional gaming competitions, such as the yearly Evo Fighting game tournament. It is no wonder YouTube wants to take such a vital stand with a company that has so much success; and with little to no ads. Twitch users are able to watch video on end without any interruption; something YouTube users tend to lose patience with very quickly.

Twitch3Before YouTube makes its move, it is preparing for U.S. regulators to challenge the Twitch deal. It is awaiting the Justice Department to consider whether the purchase would create “anticompetitive issues” for the online-video market. Another reason YouTube may be interested is the issue of threat. Because Twitch may be the closest thing YouTube has to a valid competition, it makes more sense for the company to try and buy it (similar to Facebook trying to acquire Snapchat). There’s no telling just how the company would leverage Twitch into this agreement, and that is exactly why reporters will soon be keeping us all in the loop as courtrooms make their decisions. If the purchase does happen, it would mark the most significant purchase in YouTube history.

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