The issue is not black and white. Why should Chrome implement Apple HLS, rather than Adobe HDS, Microsoft SmoothStreaming, or MPEG DASH, among other HTTP streaming formats? What about RTSP -- a protocol designed for streaming, which Android had good support for in the video tag?
In any case, live streaming in Chrome is possible with WebM, or even WebRTC. Flash is not ideal either, but at least it has consistent support on the desktop.
In any case, live streaming in Chrome is possible with WebM, or even WebRTC. Flash is not ideal either, but at least it has consistent support on the desktop.