Google is putting more of it money into content and investing in the popular YouTube channel Machinima. AllThingsD is reporting that Google will invest in Machinima during its current fundraising round which is expected to raise more than $30 million. This will raise the value of the Machinima to around $190 million.

Machinima is a video game news and pop culture YouTube channel that caters to a younger male demographic. According to their website, the channel had 1.52 billion video views in March of this year and 11 billion total views last year. There is also evidence that those viewers are watching Machinima for longer than any other YouTube partner channels. With such explosive growth, it’s easy to see why Google might want to invest in the company to make sure it keeps its content on the YouTube platform.

The AllThingsD report states that this is the first time that Google has invested in a YouTube content company. Last week Google announced that it would spend $200 million promoting premium YouTube channels. These news items, and recent Google TV announcements, mean that Google is well-positioned to take in large ad revenues from internet TV. Something tells me that this is a do-or-die time for traditional TV networks, which won’t be able to operate with their current business models a decade from now.

Channel launches on YouTube have been something of a cliche lately. Felicia Day, VICE, Lionsgate, and the Center for Investigative Reporting have all launched YouTube channels within the past month. It’s clear that the YouTube platform is finally mature enough, and the ad revenues are significant enough, for professional production companies to use as a broadcast medium.

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(via AllThingsD)