YouTube Takes on Periscope and Facebook Live with New Mobile Streaming Platform

YouTube, the powerhouse king of online video, is finally releasing functionality to compete with other live streaming platforms.

While live video streaming has been available on YouTube for a while, it’s been limited to computer browsers, which has allowed platforms like Periscope and Facebook Live Today to overtake the video giant in the live streaming market, according to Billboard Magazine.

“We’ve been offering live streaming on YouTube since 2011, before it was cool,” the company wrote in a blog post.

But YouTube’s lag ends today with the launch of live streaming functionality being added to YouTube’s mobile app, according to Lifehacker.

The feature launched today at VidCon, with YouTube recruiting help from creators such as The Young Turks, AIB, Platica Polynesia, and SacconeJolys, the company wrote. And rather than launch a new app, the live streaming feature will be built directly into the core of the existing YouTube mobile app.

“You won’t need to open anything else, just hit the big red capture button right there in the corner, take or select a photo to use as a thumbnail, and you can broadcast live to your fans and chat in near real time,” YouTube wrote in a blog post.

Along with live streaming; YouTube is launching a host of other features aimed at content creators, according to Billboard Magazine.

These features include built-in comment moderation and a benefits program that would reward YouTube creators based on a tiered system.

Coinciding with these new features, YouTube recently announced several new original series, along with what could be the platform’s first big budget production — a sign that YouTube is also trying to edge its way into the video streaming market dominated by Netflix and Hulu.

Currently, live streaming is only available for a select group of content creators, but YouTube said that a wide release would happen “soon,” Billboard wrote.

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