Blog -The live video social media opportunity for broadcasters and brands

With our last blog we looked at how to control live streaming encoders along with Facebook Live, all from a single screen. But what about the content?

As we said, we are now living in a world where broadcasters and playout providers are having to satisfy the demands of audiences that are spread far and wide across multiple devices - the ubiquitous smart phones and tablets. Not only those of course: app-based television is here, streamed to a TV set (very) near you.

But it's more than that, as advertising industry mag The Drum said late last year: Exciting as it is to predict how social media will shape live TV, many are doing so at the expense of understanding how that shift is shaping both mediums now. Change is afoot, with rights holders and brands recognising there is money to be made, even if they don't know exactly how.

This is something with which we agree entirely. We are not talking about live content that's already being broadcast on linear TV, we are talking about content that would otherwise likely never see the light of day.

Motorsport is a good example. Returning to the Drum article: It's (alternative live distribution/monetising) an attitude particularly acute in the minds of tier two sponsors. Unlike the Premier League and the Olympics, which are more inclined to stick with the more lucrative traditional deals (for now), commercial bosses at the likes of the Caribbean Premier League and Formula E are willing to cut up their broadcast rights into cheaper digital slices if it means reaching more people.

One member of the Rascular team follows particular motorsport news via Facebook and has noticed live feeds of clips from US/Canada/Australia phenomenon Stadium Super Trucks (now called Speed Energy Formula Off-Road) appearing. This has attracted his attention to the point that it's now really engaged him and other family members. All through the use of Facebook Live.

We have heard much talk of pop-up TV channels but the reality is they still seem somewhat fanciful given the current technical infrastructure required. In terms of their creation, IP will help but linear distribution over broadcast? Umm

Facebook Live presents a real opportunity for brands, second tier content and also second screen content to accompany broadcasts. Of course, not just sport but news and other content too. Yes, we know that this is being done by some, and multi-camera second screen is also used, but now we are looking at so much more than that. With rights holders beginning to embrace the flexibility required for this kind of content distribution, the situation is changing. It's going to be interesting to see how broadcasters and brands push this forwards.

Our aim is to make this as easy for an operator as possible and to allow manual streaming control to be a natural extension of an existing broadcast environment. Any questions, [email protected] -- .

LINK:	http://www.rascular.com/blog/blog-live-video-social-media-opportunity-...
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