YouTube Adding New Live Stream Features
In what looks like an effort to compete with paid third party live streaming apps and tools, YouTube is adding new live stream features that emulates some of what they offer. Apps like Stream Deck, OBS and Ecamm Live undoubtedly have taken a bite out of the active streaming directly from the platform, and YouTube is out to get those users back.
Live Guests
YouTube recently previewed these coming updates for YouTube Live, and they’re ones that have long been requested.
Probably the biggest new feature is live guests, which, as the name suggests, allows creators to invite a guest to their live stream. All the creator has to do is send a link. YouTube says:
“The host creator will be able to create a live stream, invite and screen their guests before going live to their viewers. Note that the guest channel and user information will remain hidden during the live stream.”
Hosts still have access to all the analytics, but the guests will not have access to that information.
Live Rings And Redirects
Next up is “live rings” which helps to better alert viewers to when a channel is going live (see the graphic at the top of the page). When you see the identifier, you can click through to join the stream.
Finally there’s something called “cross channel live redirects.” According to YouTube:
“Today, creators with at least a thousand subscribers can use a feature called live redirect to direct their viewers from a live stream or premier to another livestream or premier on their own channel. But they can’t send their viewers to a livestream or premier hosted on another channel. With this launch, creators with at least a thousand subscribers and no active community guidelines strikes will be able to direct their viewers to a livestream or premier hosted on a different channel.”
What this means is that if you have a guest on your stream, they can redirect their followers to your stream, which was not possible before.
What these new features attempt to do is keep creators on the platform, instead of using something else. The third party streaming platforms offer a lot more than what you see here, but these features go a long way to leveling the playing field.
