14 DAY TRIAL // The Winter X Games are still a couple of months away, but that doesn't mean you can get in on some action even now. Google has teamed up with the X Games and the names of the first athletes to be invited next year's Winter X Games will be announced, live via YouTube.
What's more, fans will then be able to join in on the conversation via a Google+ Hangout.
"Coming at you live from LA LIVE, on Monday, November 14, ESPN X Games will be announcing their first wave of invited athletes for Winter X Games Aspen ’12," Matt Villacarte, Strategic Partner Development Manager at YouTube, wrote.
The show will begin streaming at 12:00 PM Pacific Time. During the events, the invites will be revealed.
Live streaming hasn't been YouTube's strength, but it is trying to seize this segment of the market as well. One big thing going for it is the brand name and recognition, no other video site can match YouTube's potential reach.
Now, Google has added another perk, Google+ integration. Especially now that the Google+ Pages for brands have launched, the opportunity to link YouTube to Google+ is hard to pass by.
Granted, Google+ does not have the audience or the mind share that Facebook has, but investing in the platform early could pay off later for the companies that do it now.
And there's one thing that Google+ has that Facebook can't match, Hangouts, and Google doesn't waste any opportunity to boast about it.
"After [the event], check out the X Games Google+ page to watch some of the best in action sports get together in their first ever Google+ Hangout. Fans will get the chance to hang out with the likes of Louie Vito, Mat Hoffman, Ryan Nyquist, Brian Deegan and Sarah Burke. So bring those burning questions and get your winter fix," Villacarte added.