Google set to launch YouTube Connect livestreaming service to take on Periscope
Google is poised to take on Twitter's livestreaming app Periscope with the launch of its very own real-time video platform YouTube Connect.
The internet giant has been quietly developing the product in the background, as it looks to double down on live video, according to a report from VentureBeat.
YouTube Connect will be available for Apple and Android users and will allow people to link up their streams with their Google and YouTube accounts. Additionally, it will offer chat and tagging features as well as a 'news feed' style section featuring the latest clips from connections and channels an individual has subscribed to.
The development comes hot on the heels of the announcement that one of the original mobile streaming apps, Meerkat, has succumbed to the dominance of Periscope and Facebook's Live service and bowed out of the live broadcast game.
In entering this arena, Google will be looking to steal a share of its rival's userbases. Twitter currently places the number of active Periscope users at 10 million, while Facebook has rolled out Live in both the UK and US to help boost its reach across its one billion-strong network.
While YouTube does offer live broadcasting, through its Creator Studio arm it’s limited in terms of access, rumours first surfaced about