Digital live streaming has become the norm in certain industries, including sports, esports , and entertainment. But other industries have been much slower to adopt live streaming. So, which industries have the potential to make some serious money from broadcasting live content?

The Benefits of Live Streaming

Live video is always an enticing proposition to consumers, who feel that, by watching events as they unfurl, they’re part of the action, on the cutting edge, or “in the know”.

Live streaming allows you to multiply your audience exponentially, or even create an audience where there wasn’t one before. Because people can tune in from anywhere in the world, live streaming enables you to reach a global audience, and this means that streaming even fairly obscure or specialist material can be extremely successful.

Moreover, live streaming is great for your brand, positioning you as an industry leader and increasing consumers’ exposure to your organisation. And, since many industries have taken so long to adopt live streaming, there’s often a vacuum right at the top just waiting to be filled.

And, perhaps most importantly, monetising live content is a great way of making money. Whilst people may be used to watching pre-recorded material for free (thus making the market fairly difficult to monetise), often the very fact that content is being broadcast live is enough to get people reaching for their wallets.

But, whilst certain industries are making the most of digital live streaming, others seem to have barely considered what the technology can do for them.

Industries with Potential

Religion

Religion, whilst perhaps not an “industry” per se, is perhaps one areas that can most benefit from monetising live content.

In the US, so-called megachurches pull in massive audiences, and are worth a huge amount of money – with the average megachurch making $4.8 million a year, and having an average attendance of 10,000people.

But, with live streaming, the number of people able to hear the minister’s message need no longer be limited by the (often already impressive) capacity of a building. And it also allows homebound members of the church and those based overseas to join in.

The money the church raises from this endeavour can then be spent however those in charge see fit – perhaps making donations charitable causes, investing in the church’s infrastructure, or paying for the pastor’s private jet…

Stock Consultancy

The stock consultancy industry is also in a position to make a lot of money from venturing into live streaming.

The stock market moves incredibly quickly, and traders often need to make quick decisions involving extremely large amounts of money.

Live streaming allows stock consultants to broadcast their advice in real-time, allowing their clients to put it to use at the most opportune time, before the market has changed – after all, who wants to be told what they should have done, or what they should do if a certain situation arises?

Financial Services

The financial services industry can also benefit from monetising live content.

By keeping up and presenting consumers with the latest developments, financial services providers can focus on whatever aspects of the financial market their firm specialises in.

The financial services industry is huge, and whilst financial markets are monitored 24/7 by many major organisations, this coverage is often broad, generalised, and even cursory.

Financial services providers could give their clients real value by broadcasting only content directly relevant to their operation. They would likely be a huge demand for this, and consumers would be willing to pay a lot for detailed, relevant content.

Did we miss anything? What other industries could benefit from monetising live streaming? Let us know with a comment.