Blog: live streaming - Page 2

Twitch, the game video streaming platform owned by Amazon, announced yesterday that it will start selling games via streamers’ channels. This alone is news-worthy, but what makes the announcement a potential juncture in content monetisation is the revenue share model at place.

Discussions abound in tech circles over where Facebook will go next. Much in the same way as Apple’s definitive strategy in the past two decades can be interpreted through their services embellishing the company’s hardware products, (though a slowdown in iPhone sales could potentially alter this approach) Facebook’s next chapter should be seen through the lens of ‘diversify fast’.

Although organised competitions featuring video gamers have existed since the medium’s rise throughout the 70s, it is only recently that the concept of lucrative E-Sports Leagues has become a mainstream proposition.

Facebook beat estimates with its latest earnings but announced that ad revenues would likely slow in 2017 as the digital ad market feels the pinch of advertiser budgets lagging the shift in user behaviour.

Last week saw headline grabbing announcements from the two big “traditional” players in social media - Facebook and Twitter. Facebook’s announcement that it was going to widen its live broadcasting service Live to groups and events was accompanied by its statementthat it was placing a new video tab at the centre of its mobile app, facilitating video discovery and sharing.

Interactive live broadcasting platforms like Periscope and Meerkat are ideal tools to make superfans out of fans. Live streaming services can provide a live one-to-one communication at scale. The appeal of these services isn’t only about streaming or broadcasting live from anywhere.

The early adopter buzz around the launches of the live video streaming apps Meerkat and Twitter-acquired Persicope have so far failed to translate into meaningful real world adoption. But these User Generated Broadcast (UGB) apps have undoubted potential.