Dive Brief:
- YouTube is in preliminary talks to acquire livestreamed video game portal Twitch for $1 billion.
- YouTube is interested in Twitch's 90% ad completion rate — well above the video ad industry standard of just under 50%.
- The talks are currently in the early stages, and Twitch may still decide to raise funds rather than sell.
Dive Insight:
YouTube — and its owner, Google — would be crazy not to be interested in the eSports portal, given its ad completion rate in excess of 90%. That's unheard of. That being said, Twitch likely has the upper hand in this situation, because if Google is that interested, you can bet investors are paying attention as well.