IBC
Twitter feeds with the words 'Live Now' have skyrocketed since the introduction of live streaming video apps Periscope and Meerkat earlier this year.
The former, bought for $100m by Twitter in January, officially launched in March to counter the traction gained by rival Meerkat and gained instant international press coverage.
The apps allow users to shoot and broadcast video to their followers in realtime. One of the key differences between the two is that Periscope saves the video streams for 24 hours, whereas Meerkat's live video disappears once you end the broadcast.
Live streaming from a mobile phone is not new of course. Services like Livestream, Bambuser, SnapChat and Qik pre-date Periscope. Hang w/, which targets celebrity endorsements, has 2 million users. Vine boasts 40 million registered users but its user-created videos are limited to six seconds.
With the backing of Twitter and the serendipitous timing of widespread, free Wi-Fi and faster 4G mobile networks delivering near zero latency, Periscope could be the app to see 'citizen broadcasting' take-off.
Content to date is a mix of dross (video of the inside of people's fridges) and PR. Digital marketing firm Greenlight suggests that one in five marketers plan to use apps like Periscope and Meerkat in campaigns this year. The Rolling Stones, for example, used Periscope to broadcast a 'secret' gig in Los Angeles last month.
Of greater interest is the potential for live reporting, especially around breaking news. When a building collapsed in New York City’s East Village, on 26 March – just a day after the app's launch - bystanders began sharing what they could see with Periscope.
The Economist used Meerkat to explain deflation during the UK general election and Sky News journalist Joe Tidy used Periscope to get a behind-the-scenes look at the first leaders' debate. He also used the chat and 'love heart' functions (which rate the broadcast's popularity) to encourage 200 viewers to post questions, comments and reactions.
“It’s a really easy way to go live very quickly without needing anyone else or any other kit,” Tidy told The Guardian. “I think Periscope/ Meerkat will be used on a case-by-case basis for more fun things to enhance our social media storytelling.”
Another commentator has called Periscope a 'next-level Twitter', since users can get a whole new level of access to events unfolding on the ground.
The infant service has already bruised broadcasters. HBO issued takedown notices to the site after it was used to broadcast the fifth-season premiere of Game of Thrones in April. It courted further controversy when used as an illegal platform for the streaming of the Floyd Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao fight on in May 2015.
The fight was probably the biggest pay-per-view-event in TV history and was also among the most pirated. Anti-piracy specialist KLipcorp suggest up to 750,000 pirate viewers watched the fight in Europe alone.
The PPV to watch cost $99 legally but the fight had to be delayed 45 minutes while Charter Communications, Comcast, and other rights holders caught up with last-minute orders. In the interim more people piled into illegal views of the contest apparently unconcerned that the quality of the video was way below HD.
HBO issued take-down notices to Twitter and other sites during the fight but it was too late. “The cable systems were struggling to cope with demand, but Periscope wasn’t,” said Kate Bulkley, Chairman of the Strategic Insights Group & Keynote Committee, IBC2015 Conference. “All of a sudden, there are question marks over the future of broadcasting live sports.”
When asked about the controversy surrounding the Mayweather Pacquiao fight, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo likened Periscope’s effect on live events to that of fantasy sports on live sports. In his opinion it will ‘surround and amplify’ those events, rather than enable piracy or theft.
Periscope has limitations. There's no search function and you can only shoot in portrait mode, making the video unsuitable for the 16:9 standard screen aspect ratio. But such criticisms seems churlish for an app developed just a year ago and now with Twitter's R&D team working on it 24/7.
Apps like these have begun to transform the way that news and live events can be accessed and consumed online. Could Twitter develop Periscope to be of sufficiently high quality and user experience for it to become a platform for premium live sports?
Time will tell but if these events tell us one thing it's that time is not on the broadcaster's side.
Visit IBC Content Everywhere Europe for a further understanding of the impact on news and live events of live streaming from mobile, and visit the IBC Content Everywhere Hub to learn more about content protection.
This is some great information you have provided here in the blog about live broadcast app. Good platform for live events and sports.
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