Twitter owned Periscope looks to be stepping up their live streams’s production quality, so they can keep up with Facebook’s Live feature.
On September 1st, a posted Periscope Stream by Alex, a popular Periscope broadcaster, seemed to be incorporating pre-recorded video and graphics during the live broadccast, as spotted by Mashable’s Sam Sheffer. This looks to be a new thing, as Periscope hadn’t eer announced a way for people to add anyting to their live streams, other than whatever appears in front of their phone camera.
LIVE on #Periscope: Rocket Explodes in Florida, plus more of Today’s Tech News #Tech https://t.co/BScXQyDcxB
— Alex Pettitt (@Alexpettitt) September 1, 2016
“We’re always testing new functionality that gives our broadcasters the ability to create great content,” a Periscope spokesperson said after they’d been asked about the apparent tests. They declined to comment on how somebody like Pettit is able to insert pre-recorded videos and graphics into their live streams and if/when Periscope plans to officially roll out this option.
With this new potential feature, being able to insert pre-recorded video and graphics would make Periscope streams feel a lot less like off-the-cuff streams that popularized mobile live-streaming apps last year, and more like something cooler, and more official feeling. But, this appears to be the idea, as Twitter in particular has tried attracting more TV-quality live broadcasts this year, through the deals they make with companies like NFL, CBS, Bloomberg and others. It was earlier this year when Facebook added a way for media companies to broadcast pre-recorded footage through Facebook Live.