I’m excited to announce that Vimeo has taken two big leaps forward into live video. This morning we launched Vimeo Live, a new set of membership plans that provides professional live streaming capabilities through our platform. In addition, to deepen our commitment to event creators, we have agreed to acquire Livestream, the leading live solution which has driven innovation in streaming technology and products for the past decade. Together, we’ll be able to offer you the most complete video workflow on the planet — for both live and hosted videos — no matter what your needs are, and what kind of stories you tell. Vimeo’s mission is to empower you to tell exceptional stories, and connect with audiences and communities. And over the years, live streaming has emerged as an important medium for creators to connect in real-time with audiences and invite them into authentic experiences. In fact, live streaming was the #1 feature request from you this year. That’s where Vimeo Live comes in. Creators and businesses who live stream often have to choose between ad-based platforms that lack quality, reliability, and control, or expensive services that lack flexibility and convenience. With Vimeo Live, you can now:
  • Broadcast events in full HD 1080p with built-in cloud transcoding
  • Embed your live stream anywhere, and engage your audience with live chat and email capture
  • Track how your event performs and learn about your audience with live stats
  • Automatically archive and manage your post-event videos in one place
  • Get all the professional privacy controls, review tools, and customization options Vimeo is known for
  • Sell post-event videos directly to audiences worldwide as a rental, purchase, or subscription
  • Enjoy one home for all your video hosting and live streaming needs
In short, it’s everything you love about Vimeo, only live. But we didn’t stop there. We understand that professional live streaming is complex and stressful, and that’s why we are teaming up with Livestream. Their incredible team was one of the first to invest in live before it was mainstream. Today, they power over 10 million events a year, and have built a suite of innovative products ranging from the world’s most versatile live event camera, to live production software and switchers, to production services to ensure your event goes perfectly. Once our acquisition is completed, these products will become part of a single powerful live offering, giving you all the tools you need to capture, edit, broadcast, and archive your live events in one workflow. With these steps, we will empower a diverse range of creators to produce beautiful live experiences with professionalism and ease. And this is just the beginning. Over the next few months we intend to bring a new level of quality, convenience, and craft to live video. And we’ll be able to move faster and smarter with the combined force of two companies, who share the same passion for helping storytellers do their thing. We hope you check out Vimeo Live, and stay tuned for more news on our full suite of live products. And if you are already a customer of both Vimeo and Livestream, we’ll be in touch once we complete the acquisition and begin building out our combined platform. In the meantime, rest assured that we’ll keep working hard to make Vimeo the home where your videos come first. Thanks as always for your inspiration and support, and welcome to the fam, Livestream! Love, Anjali