In spite of its position within the industry, YouTube's efforts as a streaming provider fell short of Google's expectations, and as of (early) last year live events were no longer advertised on the YouTube homepage. Around the same time Google tried to buy a far more successful streaming provider, Twitch, but weren't able to secure the purchase.
Instead Amazon took off with the rights to Twitch's future success and now it seems YouTube has decided to give direct competition another go.
More specifically Google plans to relaunch its livestreaming initiative, and much like it is on Twitch, the main focus will be on streaming gaming-related activities (such as various eSports events).
"Gaming and esports in particular are going to be a big driving force for the new-look YouTube Live," an anonymous source told The Daily Dot. "There'll be huge opportunities for established streamers and organisations soon and I would say that the record numbers of esports viewers are only going to grow when Google start promoting and partnering with these events."
YouTube might have a hard time closing the gap on Twitch, which has grown immensely over the last few years, but if anyone has the framework needed to compete on a similar scale it would have to be YouTube. And, as they say, competition is good for all industries.