YouTube is looking to expand upon its coverage in the world of sports. In addition to being the one-stop shop for riveting highlights and funny bloopers, Google's video-sharing hub hopes to build upon its live sports broadcasts as well.
According to Businessweek.com, YouTube is in talks with the NHL and the NBA to broadcast live games. While the details of each discussion were not divulged by Google, one of the goals of the live broadcasts is to keep viewers on the website longer, attracting advertisers and in turn driving up YouTube's revenue.
The NBA and NHL ventures would not be the first live sporting events broadcasted on YouTube. The video-sharing site saw tremendous success when airing the live feed of Indian Premier League cricket matches, resulting in 55 million visits from over 250 countries.
YouTube also partnered up with the UFL to stream the championship game live on multiple camera feeds in November.
Google is reportedly exploring the live broadcast option with sports across the world, and has opened negotiations with multiple professional leagues.
"It's fair to say that there will be a lot more appealing sports content you'll see on YouTube," Google's director of content partnerships for Asia Pacific, Gautam Anand said. "We have ongoing conversations with pretty much everyone."
