Live streaming has become a go-to for enjoying entertainment these days, reflecting the changing viewing habits of customers. Netflix and Prime Video are investing millions to deliver select tennis, Premier League, NFL, and even WWE events. The audience has changed to streaming, so the method of delivery has changed, too.
Of course, live streaming goes well beyond watching a match unfold in real-time. At the start of this decade, people live streaming their activities like watching online videos or playing video games became huge, with Twitch at the centre of the boom. Social media has also dipped its toes in and out of the tech for years, with some 51 per cent of British adults having watched a live video stream.
Other platforms and businesses have been working on ways to power up the wave of enhanced live streaming technologies and experiences. Here, we’re looking at where the crowds are gravitating to for this new wave, as well as the London-based businesses helping to take live streaming to the next level.
Making a Live Stream Interactive
One of the leading examples of how live streaming has evolved in recent years is an interactive online product that seeks to emulate the in-person experience. This is the case of live bingo rooms and shows online, where scheduled games throughout the day, culminating in hit main events, have become very popular. Here, players get their digital bingo cards, watch the action live, and win in real-time.
It’s a way of tapping into the immersion of the technology, and making everything that happens during the event reflect immediately on the player’s side of the game. Another rapidly-advancing deployment comes by way of live shopping. TikTok Shop headlines this corner of the market, with over 6,000 UK live shopping sessions each day, letting customers quickly buy what they see being shown on-screen.
London Businesses Leveraging Live Streaming Differently
One of the most storied adopters of live streaming in London’s entertainment stream is Boiler Room. They rose to fame by creating invite-only, electronic music events and live streaming them. Their production values and options for viewer experiences keep them as industry leaders. They most recently hit the headlines as being the stage for Charli XCX teasing out her upcoming, all-conquering album Brat.
Elsewhere, we can see Smartzer developing and deploying a SaaS platform that enables videos and even live streams to become interactive and shoppable. Building on the leading examples given above, their tech has refined the approach and made it accessible to all kinds of businesses, boosting customer engagement and real-time interaction. Even in events not directly set up to sell, the tech can still pop up with ways to buy what’s on show.
Next, we have Grabyo. Rather than creating a product that enhances the live streaming experience or a product that is based around live streams, they’ve developed a specialised browser-based live video production suite. Through this, others can produce live streams for digital audiences that feel much more professional and offer ways for the streams to be monetised.
To customers, live streaming is a simple and accessible product to enjoy something in real time, but these London-based businesses are proving that there’s yet another tier to the tech that can be unlocked.
