Facebook starts rolling out scheduled live broadcasts
Live video is great, but it can suck if you don’t know when a live stream will take place and you miss out on an impromptu showing. Sure, you can catch up after the fact, but the live experience brings so much more, such as real-time reactions to whatever it is you’re seeing, as well as interaction with the broadcaster and other viewers.
Well, for those who want to make sure they never miss a bit of action, Facebook is rolling out a great new feature — scheduled broadcasts! The feature is as you’d expect: the broadcaster can set a time and date to alert their fans of a forthcoming planned broadcast. Users can join in on the broadcast 3 minutes before it’s scheduled to begin.
There’s just one caveat (albeit a big one): the feature will only be available for Pages for now, and only Verified Pages will get access in the early going. This means that your friends and family members won’t be able to schedule their own personal broadcasts unless they do it from a page.
It’s probably not a big deal for many folks as personal broadcasts tend to be quick fun-type things, while those more serious about content creation are likely already using Pages for their needs, but it’s something to note if you have specific plans for live video content. Verified Pages can stay on the lookout for this new functionality to arrive this Thursday, with other pages getting a crack at some point down the line.
[via Facebook]