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YouTube Launching Live Streaming Service -- Or Something

YouTubeLiveThumb.jpgYouTube might be launching a live streaming service before the end of this year, after all. Or will it?

After cofounder Steve Chen promised such a service before the end of the year, a source told us in August that YouTube wouldn't launch one in 2008 and probably wouldn't in 2009 either. Now a source tells us someone personally involved in the "YouTube Live!" event on November 22 -- details in the embedded video below -- specifically described it as "Youtube's Live launch."

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If YouTube is in fact launching a live streaming service, it's probably a mistake. YouTube has no idea how to make money from its current treasure trove of 2 Girls 1 Cup reaction videos and profiting off live streaming is even harder. The content isn't recorded, so there's no way ad agencies will put their brands next to it.  Not next to most of it, anyway.

And live streaming video is also a lot more expensive to host. "You're not dealing with 2 minute videos," a source in the industry tells us, "you're dealing with multi-hour chats."

See Also:
Chad Hurley Fesses Up: There's No Secret YouTube Revenue Plan
YouTube's Newest Revenue Scheme: Affiliate Fees
Eric Schmidt’s Secret YouTube Plan Unveiled? YouTube Launches Post-Roll Video Ads
YouTube Not Getting Into Live Streaming, After All

On February 28, Axel Springer, Business Insider's parent company, joined 31 other media groups and filed a $2.3 billion suit against Google in Dutch court, alleging losses suffered due to the company's advertising practices.

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