Live streaming

Lore & Background

Livestreaming services encompass social media, video games, professional sports, and lifecasting. Platforms such as Facebook Live, Periscope, Kuaishou, Douyu, bilibili, YouTube, and 17 include scheduled promotions, celebrity events, and videotelephony. Twitch and Kick have become popular outlets for watching people play video games, including esports, Let's Play-style gaming, and speedrunning. Chat rooms are a key feature, allowing viewers to interact with broadcasters using emojis and emotes.

In social media, live media refers to new media using streaming technologies to share live multimedia content. Social media marketer Bryan Kramer described livestreaming as an inexpensive key marketing and communications tool. Live stream commerce enables sellers to showcase products through streamers, mimicking in-store sales tactics. Chinese live stream-based retailing contributed significantly to the country’s e-commerce sector, with revenues in the tens of billions of pounds.

Facebook introduced Facebook Watch in August 2017 to select individuals and publicly in January 2018. YouTube Live allows users to comment during broadcasts and save streams. Kick, launched in 2022 as a Twitch alternative owned by Kick Streaming Pty Ltd and co-founded by Bijan Tehrani and Ed Craven, offers a 95% revenue share to streamers. Lifestreaming, also known as lifecasting, was popularized by Justin Kan through Justin.tv, which evolved into Twitch. Twitch, introduced in June 2011 as a spin-off of Justin.tv, focuses on video game livestreaming and is owned by Amazon.

Reader's Guide

Livestreaming has transformed how audiences consume and interact with media in real time, bridging the gap between broadcast television and digital on-demand content. Its significance lies in its ability to create intimate, interactive connections between broadcasters and viewers through chat rooms, emotes, and real-time feedback. The rise of platforms like Twitch and Kick has made gaming a central pillar of livestreaming, while Facebook Live and YouTube Live have integrated live video into mainstream social media and video-on-demand ecosystems.

The economic impact of livestreaming is substantial, particularly in China where live stream commerce was projected to reach $423 billion by 2022. In the United States, the industry was expected to grow from $17 billion in 2022 to $55 billion by 2026. Livestreaming has also enabled new forms of marketing, allowing brands to reach online audiences inexpensively. The legacy of early platforms like Justin.tv and Periscope paved the way for today's diverse ecosystem, though some services like Periscope and Mixer were discontinued due to declining usage or strategic realignment. Overall, livestreaming continues to evolve, influencing entertainment, commerce, and social interaction globally.

Did You Know?

• Chat rooms are a key feature in livestreaming, allowing viewers to interact with broadcasters using emojis and emotes.
• Kick offers a 95% revenue share to streamers, with 5% going to the platform.
• Periscope was discontinued in March 2021 due to declining usage, product realignment, and high maintenance costs.
• Justin Kan's Justin.tv, initially focused on lifecasting, evolved into the foundation for Twitch.