• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, February 18, 2008

Video-sharing site Revver was acquired by Web entertainment network LiveUniverse on Friday.

The move, first reported by industry blog NewTeeVee, comes after a month of rumors and speculation over Revver's tenuous future. The faltering Revver had reportedly been seeking some $500,000, along with the assumption of $1 million in debt.

Just last year, Revver was making headlines as the first video-sharing site to split revenue with video creators, some of whom were extremely popular Web personalities, including Ze Frank, Ask a Ninja, and Lonelygirl15.

Its hot name resulted in deals with Hollywood talent agency CAA and with U.K. TV channel Fame TV, along with over $12 million in investment from top investors, including Comcast, Turner, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Bessemer Venture Partners, Draper Richards and William Randolph Hearst III.

Owned by MySpace.com co-founder Brad Greenspan, LiveUniverse was not the only company with an interest in Revver. Video site VideoJug has also made inquiries into Revver over the past month.

Representatives for LiveUniverse or Revver did not return calls by press time.

The news comes amid intense competition for video viewers from TV networks running programs on branded sites as well as MySpace. Revver has also suffered management shake-ups, including the departures of its three founders.