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YouTube live video views are on the rise as Google takes on Facebook and Snapchat (GOOG)
Reuters
YouTube is becoming an increasingly popular destination for watching live video content, according to a report in The Financial Times (FT) on Tuesday.
The Google-owned platform claims live video views jumped by 80% over the last year.
Neal Mohan, head of product at YouTube, told the FT the number of live video postings on YouTube grew by 130% over the same time period.
"When consumers think about video, whether that’s on-demand or live, they think of YouTube. Live is one part of the picture," said Mohan.
The most popular live YouTube video in the UK was the UEFA Champions League final, which the video company claims attracted 2.2 million viewers.
Other Silicon Valley firms like Facebook and Snapchat are also chasing the live broadcasting market as user appetite for watching live videos online increases.
Facebook has previously said that users watch live videos three times longer than non-live videos and the social network is paying media companies (including Business Insider) to broadcast live onto its platform.
Mohan told the FT YouTube can differentiate itself from other livestreaming platforms due to its "ability to monetise content by the weight of its advertising deals."
He stressed that content can still make money even when it's no longer live, adding that YouTube's "creators" are paid "hundreds of millions of dollars" annually, with payouts rising by 50% every year.
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