YouTube has yet again set its sights on Twitch, but this time instead of acquiring it, the massive video hosting site is working hard on competing against it. Previously, YouTube made efforts to acquire Twitch, and was even prepared to pay more than $1 billion (about RM3.66 billion). However, the deal was turned down by Twitch due to ‘antitrust concerns’.
YouTube has purportedly taken the initiative to start up its latest YouTube Live platform, which emphasises e-sports and gaming. It is true that streaming services already exist on YouTube, but the concept of YouTube Live is to attract a new target audience as well as different content creators. Several players do upload their gameplay videos on YouTube, like PewDiePie and Markiplier, but most of them still prefer using Twitch to live stream their gameplays mainly because it happens in real time and more importantly for the service’s niche target audience – gamers.
Twitch is immensely well-known among the gaming community, especially for games like Dota 2, League of Legends, and Counter-Strike. Not only that, gaming tournaments are also often streamed live on Twitch, like the Dota 2 Internationals and League of Legends Championship Series. Several games and platforms even have streaming features built-in to stream gameplays directly to Twitch servers.
Over the years, YouTube has shown interest in e-sports by providing coverage for the League of Legends Championship series since 2013. However, Twitch is still the preferred choice for gamer to watch the livestream. YouTube has not made any official announcements as of yet, but if the company play their cards right, Twitch will have a player two to worry about, and it is not a co-op match.
