Alongside the controversial move to tackle password sharing across its streaming platform, Netflix looks to increase its presence in live streaming this year. While relatively small fry in regard to its usual viewership, which hit around 1.8 million in 2022, Netflix will be live broadcasting the SAG Awards ceremony, but only via its YouTube channel.
More importantly, it plans to have the infrastructure and technology in place to live stream the awards on its primary platform in time for the ceremony next year. The SAG Awards reportedly come a little a few days too soon, it seems, as in March, Netflix will launch its own live streaming technology, welcoming the new phase of its entertainment platform with a stand-up special from Chris Rock.
It marks a bold move for a platform that has begun to lag behind in the live broadcast department. Competitors like Prime Video have been snapping up live sports deals for years, even showing a select few Premier League games each season. In the grander scheme of business, Netflix is one of a rapidly increasing count of companies looking to leverage the power of live streaming.
Live streaming market surging in adoption and value
Platforms like Twitch and even features like Facebook Live were building the foundations for the current live streaming boom long before the turn of the decade, but it was in 2020 that mass adoption spread across the world. Live streaming and live video connections became a necessity, and soon, everyone was using the existing and new live applications. It carries on to this day, too, with local boards using Zoom to live stream meetings.
A live stream of a streamer is, perhaps, the most rudimentary application of the technology right now, but advancements across the board are bolstering the market significantly. From a valuation of a mere $1.03 billion in 2021, the global live-streaming market, per Business Wire, is now tipped to grow to $2.61 billion by 2026. While the Asia-Pacific region is, by far, the largest market right now, North America is expected to be the fastest-growing.
Expanding the application of live stream tech
While Twitch has become its own entertainment medium through live streaming, iGaming is another sector that has integrated live streaming to give a much more authentic experience to online players. For example, this Irish online casino has loaded up on live games. These range from live versions of classics to new game show creations, such as Lightning Roulette and Deal or No Deal. Importantly, they allow viewers to bet on the games in real time, offering a truly interactive and two-way form of live streaming beyond a chat box.
Similarly, the ability to react in real time to what’s happening on the live stream has piqued the interest of online shopping platforms. In China, live eCommerce is already a massive business, while in the west, it’s greatly coming down to individuals selling their stuff on social media sites. Akin to teleshopping channels, live eCommerce platforms let you see the items being demonstrated, and you can buy at that moment. However, they go further, with hosts willing to test the items and answer questions from the viewers there and then.
Live streaming looks to be an even more important feature of our daily lives as we move forward, with Netflix adding more real-time content to its schedule.