If you didn't already know, watching other people play video games online is very big business - that's why Amazon shelled out $970 million last year to buy Twitch, one of the biggest names in the field. Now it looks like Google is going to wade in as well.
YouTube Live is the name of a new service that's in the pipeline, according to the Daily Dot, and esports is going to be its primary focus. Google has been broadcasting live content over YouTube for some years now, but this will be a apparently be a substantial reboot of the service.
"There'll be huge opportunities for established streamers and organizations soon," said one of the anonymous sources quoted by the Daily Dot.
"I would say that the record numbers of esports viewers are only going to grow when Google start promoting and partnering with these events."
Stick or Twitch
Further insider whispers suggest YouTube already has a substantial team in place to make sure its relaunched Live service gets off to a good start. Sporting events could be another target for the platform, although many of the most high-profile events are tied up in TV rights deals.
One of the big strengths Google is leveraging is that YouTube has the infrastructure and interface in place to be able to make a move into whatever areas it likes the look of.
Twitch, meanwhile, has been expanding its horizons by broadcasting the occasional gig, and currently boasts around 100 million users.
Google was rumoured to be one of Twitch's suitors before Amazon sealed the deal last August. According to the Daily Dot the company is probably going to make an official announcement at some point during E3 in the middle of June, but for now Google has declined to comment.
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