Dive Brief:
- YouTube announced its now offering 360-degree video as part of its live streaming capability for brands and users.
- The social media video arms war is heating up – right after Facebook made 360-degree video one its points of focus at the F8 conference, including announcing a new 360-degree camera, YouTube is bringing the format to live streaming video.
- According to Adweek, YouTube’s first main 360-degree live stream test will be performances at the Coachella festival sponsored by T-Mobile.
Dive Insight:
The 360-degree video format was one of the more innovative offerings for online video from last year, providing viewers with a virtual reality-lite experience accessible with just a mobile or desktop screen. YouTube rolled out the format last March adding to its video ad formats in July, and Facebook made the format part of its users’ news feeds in September.
Live streaming video isn’t a new format, but it is new for viewers to experience online video by bringing the experience more in line with watching live TV. As the recent news indicates, both YouTube and Facebook are ramping up the video options for users.
"What excites me most about 360-degree storytelling is that it lets us open up the world's experience to everyone," YouTube's Chief Product Officer Neal Mohan said in a blog post. "Students can now experience news events in the classroom as they unfold. Travelers can experience faraway sites and explorers can deep-sea dive, all without the physical constraints of the real world."
For its part at the F8 developers conference, Facebook not only announced the 360-degree camera hardware device, it also opened its live stream video feature, Facebook Live, to streaming from any device including professional video equipment and drones.
From a marketing perspective, live-streaming offers brands a real-time means for connecting with fans, and in a more dynamic way. Further, live-streaming could also potentially help bring down costs associated with producing high-end videos.