Related Articles
Watch out, Twitter and Facebook. Google may be aiming to snag its own cut of the live video streaming market.
The search giant has been cooking up its own live-streaming app dubbed YouTube Connect, tech news site VentureBeat reported Wednesday, citing a “source close to the matter.” The app would mimic Twitter’s Periscope app and Facebook Live Video by giving people the ability to live-stream videos from mobile devices. It would reportedly be available for Apple’s iPhone and iPad as well as for Google Android devices.
Live-video broadcasting — once the realm only of TV broadcasters — has been catching on with average folks, celebrities and business people as the tech has evolved and apps have emerged. But Google has fallen behind rivals such as Facebook and Twitter. A new app could be a way for Google to catch up to its competition and draw more attention to its YouTube service.
According to VentureBeat’s source, YouTube Connect would enable you to log in via your Google or YouTube account and start live streaming as soon as you like. Viewers could tap into chat and tagging features as well as a news feed that shows the latest videos from friends and YouTube channel subscriptions. You could view live videos in the app or on the YouTube site. A live video would be recorded so you could watch it after the broadcast ends.
One reported limitation is that the app doesn’t yet integrate with Facebook or Twitter, the source said, so you wouldn’t be able to share a live stream on those social media sites.
Google already offers live video streaming through its Creator Studio tool, though the feature is still in beta mode and the process for setting up a live stream is complicated. Assuming VentureBeat’s source is correct, YouTube Connect would apparently be easier to use
A YouTube spokeswoman told CNET the company does not comment on rumors.
