Google Owned YouTube Deals: YouTube has reached an an all-cash offer to buy Twitch, a popular San Francisco-based videogame-streaming company, for more than $1 billion, according to sources, Variety reported.
The deal is likely to be announced at any moment, sources said. According to the Variety, the acquisition would be the most significant in the history of YouTube, which Google acquired in 2006 for $1.65 billion if the transaction will be completed. After long time Google ad executive Susan Wojcicki was named CEO of YouTube earlier this year, the looming acquisition comes. Representative for YouTube and Twitch declined to comment on the issue.
YouTube is the No. 1 platform for Internet video, attending to more than 6 billion hours of video per month to 1 billion users worldwide. The company expects the Justice Department to take a hard look at whether buying Twitch increases anticompetitive issues in the online-video market report says.
"Twitch lets users upload and watch free, live gameplay videos that can be streamed from Microsoft Xbox One and Sony PlayStation 4 consoles, and also sells a $9 monthly ad-free subscription and subscriptions to individual channels for about $5 per month. The company claims to have more than 45 million monthly users, with more than 1 million members who upload videos each month. It also has deals to distribute shows from partners including CBS Interactive's GameSpot, Joystiq and Destructoid," says Todd Spangler, NY Digital Editor for Variety.
Justin Kan and Emmett Shear launched Twitch in June 2011. The duo are co-founders of Justin.tv, one of the first websites to host livestreaming user-generated video. Emmett Shear currently serves as CEO of Twitch.
Twitch startup has raised about $35 million in funding. Bessemer Venture Partners, Alsop Louie Partners, WestSummit Capital, Take-Two Interactive Software, Thrive Capital and Draper Associates were the investors. Twitch Interactive, which includes Justin.tv, has about 130 employees, Variety detailed.
According to bandwidth-equipment company Sandvine, in March 2014, Twitch represented 1.35% of all downstream bandwidth on North American fixed-access broadband networks nearly triple from last fall.
Gameplay videos already are a highly popular category on YouTube.
