Why Twitch is worth $1B to Google

Google wants to buy Twitch — at least that’s the rumor. We don’t know when this will happen or what the deal will look like if it actually goes through, but it’s pretty clear why it might happen.

Twitch has 45 million people coming to its site every month to watch livestreaming gameplay. It is already the world’s largest video website for video gaming, which is a huge subcategory that attracts young people. Those millions of youthful eyeballs are worth a ton to advertisers who are constantly looking for ways to market products to the elusive crowds of teens, twentysomethings, and beyond. Google’s YouTube already does a great job with marketing to young people, but Twitch is potentially even better. That’s why it makes a lot of sense that Google would want to drop $1 billion for the livestreaming company — and that’s why $1 billion is actually a bargain.