Vimeo launches its first live-streaming product & announces plan to acquire Livestream

Vimeo, the video platformed owned by IAC, announced yesterday it is acquiring Livestream and has launched its first-ever live video product, Vimeo Live.

“We’re focused on bringing a new level of quality, convenience and craft to this evolving medium,” says Vimeo CEO Anjali Sud, noting that live streaming has been the top request from the creator community during the past year.

With the acquisition of Livestream, Vimeo says creators will be able to capture, edit, stream and archive live events, in addition to hosting, distributing and monetizing video content.

Founded in 2007, Livestream offers both a platform to broadcast and production tools for live video content. According to Vimeo’s announcement, nearly 50 million viewers watch “hundreds of thousands” of live events per month via Livestream. The company’s client list includes organizations like Spotify, the Philadelphia Eagles and Dow Jones.

Livestream co-founder and CEO Mark Kornfilt also gave a statement in the announcement, saying that his company was thrilled to be joining Vimeo: “Together, we will be able to go faster and further in making live video a truly ubiquitous form of communication for businesses and organizations.”

Vimeo claims entering the live-streaming market positions it as “the most complete video solution” for businesses and professional creators, but it’s difficult not to question if the site is actually positioning itself to be the next acquisition within the landscape of the video-solution providers.