When TikTok became a hit for short-form content, other social media platforms launched their own TikTok-style apps where creators can upload short content. Ever since YouTube launched Shorts, its features have been reminiscent of TikTok, such as recording in side-by-side format, pulling audio clips and making Shorts from comments. Now, it’s taking a hit at TikTok with its vertical livestream feature.
Vertical livestreaming is now available to all users
Last August 2023, YouTube announced it was testing the livestream previews on the Shorts feed. As of February 7, anyone with at least 50 subscribers and who has completed a one-time verification can livestream on their phones.
“Viewers in the test [of this new functionality] will see previews of vertical live videos mixed into the Shorts feed. As someone taps into the experience, they’ll be placed in a scrollable feed of other live videos,” YouTube said during the initial test of this feature.
Watch hour, monetization, etc.
Aside from streaming vertically, creators can also multistream in both vertical and horizontal formats. However, for multistreaming, YouTube advised creators to use a third-party plugin to send two livestreams to the platform at once. Creators can also invite other guests to the livestream or schedule it for later. Like TikTok, livestream on YouTube Shorts allows chats. Livestreams can also be monetized. Watch time of the vertical livestream is counted the same way as horizontal livestream. Once the livestream is done, it will be archived for audience to watch later.
Since the announcement of this feature’s rollout, the company has received positive feedback from the community.
