When the infamous content ID crackdown started last year, many YouTubers began to use Twitch as an alternative platform to host their content. Some just posted recorded live streams they did on Twitch on Youtube and called it a day. Others left the YouTube service behind entirely. It was naive to think that Google would not notice, and so it came as little surprise when YouTube made a bid to purchase the company back in May.
On Thursday, Venture Beat reported that a deal has been reached between both companies to sell Twitch to the internet giant. It is important to note that nothing has been officially confirmed yet. Venture Beat itself is crediting unnamed sources, and provides no further solid details beyond what was already reported in May.
There is a good chance that this is legitimate. There already has been a market reaction to the news, and it is no coincidence that the closure of this deal seems to come as the DOTA 2 Tournament drew an enormous amount of attention, to the point of being televised by ESPN itself, showing the world that broadcasting video game content is a potentially lucrative untapped market.
When and if the deal is announced, it is likely to face regulatory scrutiny, so this is in no way final. In the meantime, I am going to get ahead on the trend and place a bid for blip.tv.
