Live YouTube Channels To Take On Traditional Broadcasters

YouTube plans to offer live channels later this year in an effort to take on traditional broadcasters.

The video-sharing site’s proposal would mean that members of the public could report breaking news stories, host their own live shows and performances or set up their own Big Brother-style 24-hour reality channel.

Although YouTube has yet to make an official announcement, YouTube co-founder Steve Chen revealed plans in a video interview broadcast at a New York party.

“We’ve never had the resources to do it correctly, but now, with Google, we hope to actually do it this year,” he said.

Google paid $1.65 billion for YouTube in 2006 (see Google Buys YouTube) and the site now hosts around 73 million video clips.

In a statement, YouTube said: “We are constantly working to develop new features and improve the product for our users but we don’t have anything to announce at this stage.”

YouTube: www.youtube.com