Live-streaming: Be aware of the pitfalls

Live-streaming an event can more than double the number of people you reach, as well as add many, many more when viewers share their comments and photos across social media. Adding interactivity is a great way for those who can’t make it along to give their feedback, join the conversation or add to the debate. But live-stream pitfalls can occur from the platform you are ‘broadcasting’ on, the type of material your event contains and the countries your viewers are located in.

Your live-stream platform

We get asked a lot why we broadcast over our own dedicated platform rather than a standard service such as YouTube. A major plus point is how easy it is to embed the video stream seamlessly into your website with your own branding. Using our own platform ensures we deliver a stable connection with the highest possible quality of video and audio. You also get a secure server, under our control that is built just for your event.

Copyright material

Even if you’re planning a simple live-stream setup, you have to be aware of the rules around broadcasting on third party platforms such as YouTube. For example there will be consequences if any material under copyright features in your event, such as recorded music or extracts from films and TV programmes. As a minimum, YouTube will run ads over your live-stream to recoup costs to the copyright holder. If YouTube considers you to be in severe breach, it can close your account immediately, which not only wrecks your live-stream but draws you into a lengthy appeal process to restore your account.

Geographical location of viewers

If any of your viewers are in Germany for example, data protection laws prohibit access to live-streams on YouTube altogether (although note that this doesn’t affect YouTube recorded content in Germany). Either way, we think you’ll agree that neither of these outcomes really works in a live-streaming situation. We now shoot live events with 4K broadcast standard cameras which really lift the live-streaming experience for audiences. When we streamed Skoll World Forum this year we were thrilled to have had so many compliments about the quality of the experience. So if you’re planning an event, talk to us about how live-streaming can help you reach out. Book your meeting with Oxford Digital Media - they are exhibiting at Venturefest on 29 June.