Pros and Cons of Youtube Live – It seems easy, right? Until we start reading Youtube live information about how to stream on the main platforms, the main conclusion that we draw is that we need a program. However, getting everything to work properly can be trickier, so we’re here to help you stream like a pro.
Table of Contents
What is live on YouTube?
YouTube is the most powerful video platform on the market, which has wanted to enter the streaming world by incorporating the “broadcast live” function. At the end of the day, it is streaming, but YouTube still has to improve certain aspects.
We have to access the « Direct » section , which is located in the left sidebar.
Unlike on Twitch, we will see that the content we find is much more generic and similar to what we see on television:
- Music events and shows.
- Product presentations.
- Press conferences or interviews.
- Retransmission of successes or news.
- sports.
- 24 hours of programs, such as Top Gamers Academy, Operación Triunfo, etc.
Finally, it also has its “ gaming ” section for those who want to stream video games, but it is more focused on video game presentations or eSports broadcasts.
Pros and Cons of Youtube Live
Pros Of Youtube Live
As it happens on Twitch, YouTube has its advantages and incentives when it comes to doing live shows on this platform. Mainly, we find the following.
“The platform with the most user traffic”
This statement must be qualified because, in effect, YouTube is the audiovisual platform with the most users in the world. That said, we don’t find the same user traffic on ” Live ” streams as we do on regular video.
In this way, we can take advantage and do some direct to attract potential users to our channel.
Better implementation for smartphones and tablets
Twitch also has its application for tablets and smartphones, the point here is that YouTube offers a much more polished and faster app . This will go to taste, but Google does its thing on Android, so we understand that it is normal to have a superior app.
In addition, whether to watch or broadcast, it has greater versatility , such as very good synchronization with the server in question. It may not happen to many of you, but the Twitch app crashes sometimes when we are connected by Wi-Fi. It goes into automatic mode (change of resolution depending on the quality of the connection) and we can experience cuts.
More variety of content
It is undeniable that Twitch is focused almost 100% on video games, but YouTube is not like that. All important presentations, interesting events, interviews, etc. are broadcast on YouTube and recorded later for your review.
For this reason, it can be more interesting for the average user than for the gamer user. Anyone who wants to find a press conference, television program or retransmission of an event, goes to YouTube.
The events that we have seen officially broadcast on Twitch have to do with eSports in 90% of cases: championships, cups, leagues, world cups, Europeans, etc.
Engagement to get subscribers
We have seen a tendency for certain YouTubers to go live in order to attract more attention to their channel . The purpose of this is to get more subscribers for the channel, which quickly turns into money.
The key to this is to position the streaming well, in such a way that YouTube suggests it to users in its main menu. Personally, many times I have gotten into a direct that I did not know for mere curiosity. So I have to say it works.
Disadvantages
YouTube is not spared from having weak points, which are not few when we refer to it in terms of streaming.
Low gaming streaming traffic
It is true that YouTube is the most powerful video platform in the world, but in terms of streaming it has a long way to go . It is enough to discover the concept of YouTube that users have with a question, what is YouTube?
Everyone will say that it is a video platform where there are YouTubers who upload their videos, you subscribe, etc. Nobody will say that it is a streaming platform , just what we are questioning.
On the other hand, if we ask the same question about Twitch, everyone who knows that website will say that it is a streaming platform for video games.
With this I want to summarize this disadvantage: users do not see YouTube as a streaming platform. For this reason, there are not many viewers on their live shows .
If our channel is about video games, we will obtain worse data: its most powerful streaming services have to do with events, not video game streaming.
Few interaction capabilities
If we put Twitch in opposition, YouTube needs to implement more functions when it comes to being able to interact with our audience. Its broadcast system lacks whispers or internal communication channels that allow users to talk privately while watching our stream.
It seems silly, but these channels are widely used, especially when we want to talk to a moderator or the moderator with us.
In addition, the chat space is smaller because YouTube prefers to show other broadcasts relevant to the user. On Twitch we have a much larger chat, which helps the user, and the streamer himself, to read more comments without many getting lost along the way.
Absence of prizes or swag
We again emphasize the gaming community, which is interested in incentives like these. YouTube does not collaborate with the main video game developers to grant its users bonuses of this type.
So, “gamers” will not be interested in watching streaming on this platform, but on Twitch. It must be recognized that the latter has it better mounted.
It is more difficult to earn money
Leaving aside the factors of competitiveness (which are quite a few), the monetary policy that YouTube offers the user is less attractive . We will be able to get partners and sponsors when we reach many subscribers or many views, although it is preferable to have more subscribers.
Not only that, it is highly valued when viewers give a ” thumbs up ” to videos. This disappears on Twitch where companies only care about weekly views and subscribers. Also, on Twitch we choose when we put advertising on our stream.
As proof, many YouTubers have switched over to Twitch for good , leaving YouTube as a secondary revenue platform. This is the case of Willirex , Rubius or AuronPlay , content creators who have focused their efforts on Twitch, but without abandoning YouTube.
Then, we see cases like the magnificent Ibai Llanos , known for being a caster (commentator) of the LVP. He started out exclusively on Twitch and later worked a bit on the YouTube channel together with his editor RickyEdit. In this way, on YouTube he posts the best moments of his broadcasts on Twitch.
After all, the model proposed by Twitch tends to interest users more.
Little culture of donations
Earlier we said that Twitch has a good culture of donations in place, something that attracts many streamers. On YouTube, many channels offer Patreon , which is a donation platform for content creators.
On the other hand, they usually put referral links to try to earn money that way. In short, users do not usually donate money to YouTubers, except in specific cases or loyal followers. Instead, Twitch allows you to donate via PayPal or via bits .
It is always easier to donate through PayPal, since it is a platform used by many