YouTube tests vertical format for live broadcasts

After the success of Shorts, short vertical videos lasting a maximum of one minute, YouTube is starting to test a new tool for its creators: full-screen live broadcasts in vertical format.

Once again drinking from TikTok’s manual and in its mission to gain more and more space that was conquered by the Chinese application, YouTube will now gradually introduce the option of full-screen live broadcasts also vertically.

The testing phase began on September 6th and some users of Google’s video platform are already starting to see live broadcasts in full screen in vertical format.

Live on the YouTube Shorts timeline

Just like on TikTok, vertical full-screen live streams appear on the Shorts timeline on YouTube. The video, as in the competing app, also appears with the chat layred on top of the images.

“We’re running an experiment with a new full screen viewing experience on vertical live streams for mobile viewers. This new vertical live experience includes a scrollable live stream feed and easily accessible fan funding features. During this experiment, creators can stream vertically, either on mobile devices with the YouTube app or through desktop streaming software, and their vertical streams will be visible to eligible viewers browsing Shorts on the YouTube app. We’re experimenting with this new vertical live feed, and plan to test out more improvements to the vertical live streaming experience soon.”

Despite the tests, this is not the first time that YouTube has tested full-screen live broadcasts. In 2016, with the popularity of Periscope, Google’s video platform already experimented with full-screen live broadcasts, but this was quickly discarded by the company, focusing on improving the horizontal full-screen live broadcast experience.

Testing for vertical full-screen live streams is limited for now, but should reach all users soon.