Youtube Live Hangouts On Air

Will YouTube live streams become more complicated with Google killing Hangouts On Air? No need to worry. There's a Google Hangouts On Air alternative to make your broadcasts on YouTube so much easier to handle — BeLive!

Google Discontinues Hangouts On Air

Google has been shutting down several of its services in the past few years and Hangouts On Air is one of the latest casualties.

The tech giant previously announced its intentions to replace Hangouts on Air earlier this year, redirecting its users to YouTube Webcam for live streaming management. However, Webcam only works for single broadcasts of local channels. That means guests will need to be within the same room with the host to be able to join the stream. Group chats or remote interviews will not be possible for Webcam as well.

This poses a problem for YouTube streamers who used Hangouts on Air for interviews or live group chats. Users of Facebook Live With also faced the same dilemma when the social media site decided to end the service suddenly.

The Importance of Hangouts on Air

Hangouts on Air started in Google+ as a self-service program to invite up to 10 people for a recorded video chat. After the chat, the video of this conversation automatically gets published on the user's YouTube channel.

This convenient feature eliminated a ton of repurposing work for streamers and podcasters alike. That's because it allowed them to schedule their YouTube broadcasts. When they needed to interview someone remote during the live broadcast, they used Hangouts On Air instead.

With Hangouts On Air, users could invite guests for a talk show-like interview during a live stream and post it on their YouTube channel with no problem.

However, with Google shutting Hangouts On Air, YouTube streamers will have to rely on other live streaming tools to be able to bring remotes guests with them on screen.

BeLive as Hangouts on Air Alternative

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Stroke TV invites a guest on a YouTube live using Be.Live

All is not lost! Here's some good news for those who are looking to replace Hangouts on Air with another more reliable live streaming tool.

If you're looking for an easy-to-use tool that offers something similar to Hangouts on Air for your broadcast, BeLive is a great alternative! Aside from being a recognized Facebook Live solutions partner, BeLive can now stream on YouTube as well!

Users can sign up and log in to BeLive using their Facebook or YouTube accounts and go live on either one of these platforms. Not only that, but you can also customize your live stream to make it look more professional and true to your brand. Plus, you'll be able to go live on YouTube with up to four guests on screen!

With BeLive, you can:

Add your own logo, branding colors, and custom frames
Add crawlers, name tags, and agenda on the lower third of the screen
Share the screen for presentations and walkthroughs
Share pictures, GIFs, and short clips to the broadcast (usually for intro and outro)
Feature viewers' comments on screen

Go Live On YouTube With BeLive

You won't have to use complicated software to go live on YouTube. With BeLive, you can go live anytime with just your Google Chrome or Safari browsers. Since it's such a user-friendly studio, you can find everything you need for a successful show right there on your screen!

Once you log in to BeLive using your verified account, you can start streaming on YouTube! Don't know how to verify YouTube account? Just follow this simple tutorial on how to start streaming on YouTube using BeLive.

You can also download your video in HD after the broadcast ends, so you can edit and upload it to other platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Not too confident about going live on YouTube yet? Try recording yourself first with the Offline Recording feature!

Master how to go live on YouTube using BeLive's Studio2 with this ultimate guide!

Watch this awesome masterclass on how to go live on YouTube using BeLive!

Interested in using BeLive as your Hangouts on Air alternative? Sign up now and get the whole experience with a FREE trial.

Editor's Note: This post was originally published on December 16, 2020, and has been edited for updates and quality on March 25, 2021.

Pam Amantiad is a Content Writer in BeLive's Marketing Team. With a degree in Creative Writing, she has nearly a decade of experience in digital marketing, particularly in content creation as a copywriter and a freelance blog writer. Not contented with producing written outputs, she dove into the world of live video marketing in 2019 and hasn't left since.