YouTube Is Beefing Up Its Live Video Game to Compete With Facebook and Periscope
By Lauren Stacy • June 29, 2016
YouTube may have been first in the online video space, but as the digital ecosystem explodes, the online video giant has fallen behind in one of the newest trends: live video. During its keynote at VidCon, the annual confab for online video creators, YouTube took a major step towards fending off competition from Facebook and Twitter-owned Periscope. Kurt Wilms, YouTube’s product lead for immersive experiences, reminded the audience that YouTube has been in the livestreaming game a lot longer than its competitors. “We’ve been offering livestreaming since before it was cool,” he said.
But while Wilms pointed out that two major events of the last five years were livestreamed on YouTube, the Royal Wedding in 2011 and Felix Baumgartner’s “Space Jump” in 2012, the fact is the online video giant has fallen behind. To that end, Wilms said that YouTube would be adding a livestream component to its mobile app, which should make it easier for creators to stream live video, essentially in the same way that Periscope and Facebook Live work. “We created that capture button last year to make on-the-go creation easier than ever, and soon it will give you the to option to broadcast what you’re seeing live,” said Wilms.