Variety reports that the all-cash offer is expected to be announced imminently.
Update 2: The Wall Street Journal has stated that Twitch and YouTube are in “early talks” about a possible acquisition – a far cry from the “imminent” announcement Variety initially reported.
Source: Wall Street Journal
Update: Twitch has replied to our request with the bog standard “we don’t comment on rumors,” PR reply. Still waiting on a response from YouTube.
Original Story: According to some of Variety‘s “sources close to the pact,” popular video streaming conglomerate YouTube has just done a deal to purchase Twitch.tv – the live streaming service popular with video gamers – for a crazy $1 billion dollars.
YouTube and Twitch are expected to announce the all-cash offer “imminently,” sources said, and if true, would make for the most significant acquisition in the history of YouTube. It’s certainly a very crazy amount of money, but given that Twitch is number one in its field, and has been steadily growing over the years with crazy social experiments like Twitch Plays Pokemon, it seems fair.
Although, that may be more of a detriment than a positive, according to the source. Apparently, Google’s lawyers are ready for a challenge from the Justice Department on the grounds of competition issues, given the fact that both services are already number one in their respective fields.
YouTube was acquired by Google back in 2006, and the impending acquisition comes after longtime Google ad exec Susan Wojcicki was named CEO of the video streaming service earlier this year.
YouTube had been experimenting with it’s own live streaming options, so it doesn’t come as a surprise that they would opt to simply buy the most popular option rather than further develop their own alternative (anyone remember Google video?).
We’ve reached out to YouTube and Twitch for comment.
Source: Variety
