The company that pushed podcasts from our earbuds to our television screens is making another wager.
YouTube believes livestreaming is “at a similar inflection point” as video podcasting was roughly four years ago, and is primed to become a “cultural phenomenon,” said Toni Reid, a vice president of product management at the company.
On Tuesday, the platform announced its most significant product updates to livestreaming since late 2013, when it began offering creators the ability to broadcast in real time. The updates make it easier for novices to start streaming, for experienced streamers to try new formats and for everyone to make more money from advertising.
YouTube’s vote of confidence is yet another sign of the appeal of live programming to new media companies, whether through promoting user-generated content, or buying up broadcast rights for Formula 1 races or awards shows. Platforms want to maximize active screen time; YouTube’s biggest competitor, Netflix, is also chasing glory in live sports and competition events. (YouTube just aired its first N.F.L. game.)
More than 30 percent of YouTube’s daily registered visitors watch some live content, according to the company. It’s the most popular platform for livestreaming, followed by TikTok, Twitch, Kick and Rumble.
And yet livestreaming remains relatively niche by mass audience standards. “We are still in the early innings,” as Rumble’s chief executive phrased it last fall. The format was pioneered by gamers, who are holding strong as other categories rise.
Last year, millions tuned into the U.S. presidential debates through online streams, including those hosted by chattering political influencers. In Germany, the football league Bundesliga just awarded live broadcasting rights to a few sports commentators on YouTube.
“I think livestreaming is the next evolution of media,” said Adam Faze, a producer of original series for digital platforms, pointing to its “populist” nature. Most streamers engage heavily with their chat: viewers bleating requests, jokes, questions and answers in a constant text-based stream alongside the live feed.
While Gen Alpha is native to this world, Mr. Faze said, “the reason why the average adult hasn’t started consuming livestreaming is mainly just a lack of formats and talent that would speak to them right now.”
Which is why YouTube wants to coax more creators of all sizes into live. For every popular mainstream account (like NASA’s live space feeds, coming soon to Netflix), there are dozens more niche streamers unboxing Pokemon cards, feeding birds or walking with metal detectors on a beach.
One feature announced Tuesday by YouTube is “practice mode,” allowing new streamers to rehearse before their live show begins. (“It takes courage to push aside stage fright,” according to a YouTube blog post.) Advertising breaks that typically interrupt live content are also being replaced by side-by-side ads.
YouTube is expanding a feature that allows creators to broadcast live while patching in other livestreams. Put more plainly: It’s like a watch party. A fashion influencer can split her screen vertically with the Met Gala’s live red-carpet feed, offering critique from her couch.
“It means, from a viewer perspective, you can either watch the main broadcast, or you can say, ‘My favorite creator is reacting to this live; I actually want to watch their own unique commentary,’” said Barbara Macdonald, a product lead for YouTube Live and a creator herself. “Everybody has a mobile broadcasting studio in their pocket.”
This power does not come without pitfalls. Violent acts have been committed on livestreams. There are creators who habitually go live for hours every day, reacting in real-time to world events, even terrible ones. It is a raw and unpredictable medium by nature.
Dean Withers, a political streamer, became emotional on his feed last week as news broke of Charlie Kirk’s assassination. Days later he told The New York Times that he wished he hadn’t been live at the time. “I wish that I took more time to process my response more personally,” he said, “and then gave a more refined response publicly.”
Jessica Testa covers nontraditional and emerging media for The Times.
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