Facebook Invites Everyone to Use “Live Streams” as the Demand Rises

• Facebook is pushing aggressively for live streaming domination, opening up to everyone.
• The platform already created mobile creation tools and introduced streaming versatility options.
• Twitch and YouTube viewership and content creation rates are also exploding, as the current situation is ideal for the field.

Facebook is opening up its “Live Streams” to anyone, including those who don’t have an account on the social media platform. Moreover, the content is now made available to Android and iOS users (over the next few weeks), whereas previously, the streams were only available on the desktop. With the vast majority of the world population stuck at home, meeting the rise in demand for live video isn’t easy, even for tech giants like Facebook, so this extension of services is a double-edged sword.

As Facebook reports, the number of “Live Streams” viewers in the United States has increased by 50% over the last month, as people are trying to stay connected with the outside world and access reliable information. Over the same period, 8.5 billion broadcasts were created, so content makers are on fire, as expected. To keep things under control, Facebook has introduced the option for “audio only,” which is especially useful for those using mobile data. Even for the videos, Facebook and Instagram are already using lower quality to keep bandwidth loads in check, as both platforms are breaking new usage records every day.

As for the content creators, Facebook is trying to help them create broadcasts easier and earn more money out of their online activity. More specifically, Facebook is expanding “Stars” to more creators and publishers, and they are planning to include musicians and cultural institutions soon, too. The social media company has also launched “Live Producer,” introducing new tools to engage with the audience as well as kits to create content right from the mobile platforms as well. Facebook is making such a bold move in the field because the COVID-19 situation has brought a fantastic opportunity for live-streaming to flourish.

In the same context, Twitch is living unprecedented times of promotional and usage frenzy. The world’s most successful and widely-used streaming platform is reporting a continuous weekly 10% growth since the beginning of March, so this is a historical peak for them. Similarly, YouTube streamers are experiencing an explosion of 15% more viewership over the last week, so publishers, promoters, intermediaries, creators, and platforms are all winning right now. All that said, if you were thinking about shifting to a content creation career, now is your moment.