{"id":99329,"date":"2018-02-22T07:00:24","date_gmt":"2018-02-22T13:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/?p=99329"},"modified":"2018-02-21T13:53:20","modified_gmt":"2018-02-21T19:53:20","slug":"facebook-new-streaming-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/facebook-new-streaming-service\/","title":{"rendered":"The Lowdown on Facebook’s New Streaming Service"},"content":{"rendered":"

Facebook\u00a0wants to compete with YouTube and Twitch\u00a0in the\u00a0online streaming game. Here’s the lowdown for filmmakers and video producers.<\/h2>\n

Cover image via welcomia<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Three websites have dominated the social sharing landscape since 2010: Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Every so often, we\u2019ll see a new alternative with a niche focus, such as Instagram or Vine, but it\u2019s never too long before one of the mega-giants acquires these outlying platforms. However,\u00a0when\u00a0the larger companies\u00a0can’t acquire\u00a0an emerging brand, they’ll often make their own version of the service.<\/p>\n

As we covered in “How To Fix Out-of-Sync Audio on a Video Game Screen Capture<\/a>,” video game content is bigger than ever. Viewership outranks HBO, Netflix, and Hulu combined; content creators make millions per year; and the broadcast gear at a championship event rivals what you’d see at a heavyweight fight. Even Google\u00a0wants to cash in on this new pasture with a new streaming service powered by Chromecast<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"The
\nImage via Facebook<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Twitch is currently the champion of streaming services, but Facebook has been looking to challenge their position for a while now. In 2016<\/a>, they reached a deal with Blizzard\u00a0to allow users to stream any Blizzard game straight to Facebook. They also recently snapped up the rights<\/a> to\u00a0broadcast games with e-sports giant ESL. With the new services\u00a0that have rolled out over the last two weeks, it looks as if Facebook wants to dethrone Twitch.<\/p>\n

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1080p 60fps Streaming<\/h3>\n

\"The
\n<\/a>Image via Rommel Canlas<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Facebook first introduced live streaming in 2016, and it instantly became a hit with news organizations\u00a0for covering live events on the ground from a mobile perspective. VGC creators also quickly adopted it to stream their content direct to their audiences. As we know,\u00a0Facebook favors videos and links that keep users onsite.<\/p>\n

In early 2017, Facebook teamed up with<\/a>\u00a0Nvidia to allow users to stream directly to their timelines from Nvidia\u2019s GeForce Experience. Now, you can use\u00a0most streaming software in conjunction with Facebook. The problem, however, was that streaming was limited to 720p at 60fps or 1080p (to select pages) at 30fps. If you spend more than few minutes around VGC streamers, you know that 1080p at 60fps is a must. As of last week, that is now an available format. VGC creators can stream at 1080p at up to 60fps.<\/p>\n

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Monetizing<\/h3>\n

\"The
\n<\/a>Image via Gorodenkoff<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Two years ago, one of the biggest reasons content creators prioritized YouTube over Facebook was lack of monetization. Facebook\u00a0introduced<\/a>\u00a0this last year, although the system still lacks the finesse of AdSense. VGC streamers\u00a0get appreciable income from audience backing \u2014 usually through Patron<\/a>\u00a0\u2014\u00a0but some streamers opt for in-stream tips. Twitch and YouTube offer in-chat tipping, but there\u00a0are also plenty of third-party websites that perform\u00a0this service with added callouts. Facebook has now also introduced a tip feature: viewers can tip the streamer $3 or more.\u00a0Unlike other applications, Facebook doesn\u2019t\u00a0offer an onscreen “shout out,” but it\u2019s likely that we’ll see that feature in the future.<\/p>\n

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Clipping<\/h3>\n

\"The
\n<\/a>Image via Azret Ayubov<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

One of\u00a0Twitch’s core elements is clipping moments from the\u00a0content creators you watch. For example, let’s say the VGC streamer manages to defeat three enemies with only a slither of health while drinking a cup of coffee in her webcam display. Instead of letting that moment pass, you can\u00a0clip it\u00a0<\/em>and then share it. At first, the\u00a0idea of someone taking 20 seconds of your broadcast and sharing it can seem like a violation of your content.\u00a0However, it is great free advertising\u00a0since your channel’s name is under the clip title. As channel owner, you can delete the clip if you want to, but this feature means your core audience can share your best moments just for the fun of it.<\/p>\n

This feature has been missing from Facebook live streams, but if you are a registered game page, your audience can now clip the last 30 seconds of gameplay. (I should note, however, that I was watching a live stream from\u00a0StoneMountain64<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 arguably Facebook\u2019s largest\u00a0VGC with over one million followers \u2014 and someone pointed this out to him. He didn’t know this feature was live, nor did Facebook mention it in the\u00a0press release<\/a>. So it may be that, right now, this feature is only available to select regional viewers.)<\/p>\n

So, with a dedicated pilot program<\/a> for streamers, summit retreats, and a creator program akin to YouTube, it looks like Facebook is really pushing to become a new home for online content creators.<\/p>\n

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Looking for more information about online content? Check out these articles.<\/p>\n