YouTube

YouTube has started a two day trial of its new streaming platform, which enables broadcasters to stream live video directly into YouTube channels.   YouTube has brought in four content partners, namely Howcast, Next New Networks, Rocketboom and Young Hollywood.

YouTube says that live streaming is “a natural evolution to online video that adds an extra level of engagement”, but this is also a feature that could make YouTube’s integration with Google TV even more useful. YouTube wants to become the central hub for online video, so it now focuses on adding more premium content: live events, music videos, movies and TV shows, movie rentals.

“This is just an initial trial, a first step,” said YouTube product manager Josh Siegel. “We’re going to look at a whole bunch of data about the performance of our new platform and then, based on that, make decisions about how we’ll open it up, with the goal of opening it up to all of our partners over time.”

Chris Hamilton, a product marketing manager at YouTube, said live streaming is “a natural evolution to online video” that “adds an extra level of engagement” for the site’s audience.