YouTube now lets users with more than 10,000 subscribers broadcast live-streams directly from their smartphones, with further promises that it will extend the feature to more users “soon”.
Announced on Tuesday, users eligible can now enjoy the new feature by hitting the “capture button” in YouTube’s mobile app directly. Streamed videos will have all the same features as regular YouTube videos. They can be searched for, found via recommendations or playlists, and protected from unauthorized use.
YouTube also introduced a new live stream monetisation tool, Super Chat, to the creators in more than 20 countries and views in more than 40 countries, which lets any fan watching a live stream to stand out from the crowd by purchasing chat messages.
The purchased messages will be highlighted in bright colours, and stay pinned to the top of the chat window. The more the fan paid, the longer the message could stay. Prices range from HK$5 to HK$2500. The revenue from Super Chat is shared with the creator, but the company did not reveal the exact revenue split.
