Now anyone wanting to host a live broadcast will be able to do so online with Google+ Hangouts On Air, which Google has now made globally available.
Hangouts On Air were first introduced late last year to a select number of broadcasters. Google says it has been refining the feature since.
Now, users worldwide who have something to say can go live in front of a global audience. Users can broadcast publicly by selecting the “Enable Hangouts On Air” option within Google+ Hangouts. The broadcast can be streamed to a user's Google+ stream, YouTube channel or embedded on a Web site.
According to Google, users will be able to see how many viewers they have during the broadcast, as well as record and share the broadcast once off-air.
Google+ engineering director Chee Chew says: “Launching millions of live stations takes some doing, so we're rolling out Hangouts On Air gradually, over the next few weeks.”
list of countries in which the service is currently available. Google says Hangouts On Air will be gradually rolled out to users with YouTube accounts in good standing.
Hangouts has been a key differentiator for Google+ as it has struggled to gain traction against its competitors. The latest update to the On Air feature also marks a significant switch from high-profile broadcasters to all users. It is also notable that now for anyone wanting to broadcast live on YouTube, they will require a Google+ account.
In order to punt the feature, Google has scheduled a number of high-profile Hangouts On Air for May, including Conan O'Brien (8 May), the Global Poverty Project (10 May), Cadbury UK (11 May) and Jamie Oliver (19 May). Details of the times for the broadcasts can be found here.
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