Pre-program your weekly streaming schedule in advance, reducing the amount of time you have to spend managing your schedule each week! This article will show you how to set up a repeating live stream schedule and answer some common questions about repeating live streams!
The Basics
Repeating live streams involves two parts: the repeating live stream template and the individual repeating live stream instances. When you create a template, our system will use that template to create weekly instances on your live stream schedule. The template allows you to specify all of the info that most likely will not change week-to-week in each instance, like the start time, end time, syndication settings, etc. New instances will be created for as long as the template is active!
Sharp-eyed users will notice that some of the repeating live stream instances and the template will display an icon depicting two arrows circling each other:
When you see this icon on an instance, that means that the instance is linked to the template. Any instances that are linked to the template will be automatically updated if changes are made to the template, and instances that are not linked (and thus do not have this icon) will not be changed if changes are made to the template. Similarly, if the template is deleted, all linked instances will also be deleted but unlinked instances will be unaffected. To unlink an instance from the template, open the instance and click the "save draft" or "publish" button; this will cause the instance to be unlinked from the template and saved as a draft or published (or scheduled to publish, depending on the instance's publish time setting). Instances will be automatically unlinked from the template once they are 8 days away from their scheduled live time.
Create a Repeating Live Stream
The process of creating a repeating live stream is quite similar to the process of creating a one-time live stream:
Navigate to the Live section of your dashboard and press "create live stream".
Provide a title for the live stream and optionally connect it to an existing media series. When providing a title at this stage, we recommend using a fairly generic title (like "Sunday Service") which will be applied to all instances of the repeating live stream; you'll have the opportunity to provide more specific titles to each instance later.
By default, the one-time live stream type will be selected; switch it to the repeating live stream type, then press "create".
On the next menu, you can specify additional details for the repeating live stream: start time, end time, days of the week on which to repeat, etc. You can also make changes to the title and the media series connection which you've already supplied. Once all your details have been set, press "create" one more time.
Your repeating livestream is now scheduled!
FAQs
Can I make changes to repeating live stream templates or instances after they've been scheduled?
Yes! Both repeating live stream templates and the instances created by those templates can be edited. Changes to the template will affect all linked instances, and changes to an individual instance will only affect the instance to which the change was made.
How do I delete a repeating live stream and all future instances?
You can delete a repeating live stream template by finding the template in the Repeating Live Streams section on the lower-right side of the Live page, clicking on the three-dot menu button on the right-hand side of that item, and pressing "delete". The template and all linked instances will be deleted.
Can I delete a single instance without affecting the template or the other instances?
Yes, you can delete select instances without affecting the other instances or the template. To do this, simply open the three-dot action menu on the right edge of each instance you want to delete and press "delete". This will delete the instance without affecting any other instances or the template.
Is there a limit to the number of repeating livestream templates I can set up?
We currently have a limit of 10 repeating live stream templates; however, there is no limit to the number of one-time streams or repeating live stream instances on the schedule.
Do I still need to start and stop streaming from my encoder?
Yes. With repeating live streams, the scheduling aspect of Live is hands-off, but you will still need to provide a stream from your encoder during the scheduled time.