Summary: Building a live streaming app can be an exciting venture, but it’s important to plan carefully. Remember, the key is to define your app’s purpose, understand your users, and choose the right features and technology stack. While the cost can be a bit high, there are ways to keep it in check by prioritizing features and using a development model that fits your project. Don’t forget to test thoroughly and gather user feedback to ensure your app is a hit with viewers.
Thinking of starting a streaming service? You’re not alone! The live streaming market is booming, with people spending billions of hours watching live video every year. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know, from figuring out your app’s purpose to choosing the right tech and keeping costs in check.
But first let’s begin with some interesting facts for your curious mind:
Live Streaming Market Statistics
- Live streaming is booming! The market is growing fast, reaching $1.5 billion in 2023 and expected to hit $3 billion by 2027.
- People love live video! 765 million people in China alone watch live streams, and 80% prefer it over articles.
- We spend a LOT of time watching! As of 2023, people watched a total of 7.6 billion hours of live streams (that’s a lot of hours!).
- Live streaming is popular in the US too! There are 158 million viewers there.
- Young people love live streams! Around 34% of Gen Z watch live streams, especially on social media.
- Live video is good for business! Companies using video features see their revenue grow 49% faster than those without.
What is a Streaming App?
Streaming apps let you watch videos online without downloading them. They work like this:
- Big videos get shrunk: Special software or video encoder makes big video files smaller so they can travel faster over the internet.
- Fast delivery: Networks of servers around the world store and send videos to users nearby, so things don’t lag.
- Modern player: Most videos play directly in your web browser, no extra software needed. HTML5 video players replaced Adobe’s Flash Player.
Streaming apps are used for all sorts of things, like:
- Live events: Watch concerts, conferences, or even government meetings happening right now!
- Learning online: Take courses, watch lectures, or get how-to videos.
- Entertainment: Stream movies, shows, or even play games through the cloud.
- Business: Watch sales pitches, product demos, or see how things work before you buy.
- Healthcare: Doctors can even use streaming to monitor patients remotely.
Some of the popular live streaming apps are:
- TikTok
- Twitch
- Bigo Live
- YouTube Live
- Instagram Live
- Facebook Live
Step-by-Step Guide to Make a Streaming App
Step 01 – Define your purpose
The answer to the question why are you building this app clarifies the purpose. Next step you can take is to research the market and assess the needs of the potential customers. In this regard, different criteria can help such as, market size, competition, types of streaming apps in demand and the growth rate of different types of streaming apps.
Furthermore, factors such as gender, age, content consumption habits and the location also provide useful insights to ascertain the purpose. A complete understanding of the legal aspects including copyright frameworks and content licensing is also crucial.
Moreover, a strong application foundation is built when you look at the metrics such as localization and scalability of the content across multiple continents.
Streaming market is projected to be worth $173.73 billion by 2028. This global transition from cable TV to online streaming platforms offers a variety of streaming possibilities, such as:
- Video-on-demand apps
- Music streaming apps
- Esports streaming apps
Step 02 – Know your audience
Creating buyer personas has been an effective strategy to understand the audience since always. It allows you to customize your app’s user experience and features to address customers’ pain-points.
Once you ensure this, attracting customers won’t be a big deal. You will build a loyal customer base that will go a long way in making your app a success.
To state an example, a 25 year old male who loves football, and wants to catch-up on every update would make a perfect buyer persona category.
Step 03 – Choose monetization streams
Different monetization strategies can help you in generating revenue from your streaming app, such as:
- Paid App: Charges a fee for downloading the app
- Freemium: Offers a free app download but charges for accessing certain features
- Ads: Runs ads on the app while streaming to generate fees
It’s rare using only one monetization strategy, usually, a mix of two or three works quite well. Twitch uses three models: ads, subscription and cuts from in-app purchases.
Step 04 – Identify features
Streaming apps need certain tools to work and depend on what the app offers. There are many tools an app can use, but some are super important. For example, if your app has free and paid content, you’ll need a special tool to let people unlock the paid stuff. The key features of your app will correspond with the use cases. Let’s enlist some of the must-have features in video streaming app architecture.
Step 05 – Choose the tech stack
This step is about picking the building blocks for your app and including programming languages and other tech stuff.
Important tools for streaming apps:
- Streaming Protocol: This is like a special walkie-talkie that sends videos over the internet. There are a few options, each with its own pros and cons. Consider things like privacy, how fast the video gets there, how many people can watch, and cost.
Here’s a quick guide:
- HLS: Works with most devices.
- SRT: Keeps things private.
- HLS or MPEG-DASH: Lets you change the video quality depending on internet speed.
- HLS or MPEG-DASH: Can be cost-effective.
- Streaming Platform: This is where the videos are stored and sent out to viewers. You can build your own or use a pre-made one, like renting a storage locker instead of building your own.
- Content Delivery Network (CDN): This is like having lots of video copy shops around the world. It makes sure viewers can watch your videos smoothly, no matter where they are. There are many CDNs to choose from, so pick one that works best for your audience.
Remember: The best tools depend on what you want your app to do and who will be using it. Think about the problems you want to solve and choose the tools that work best for you.
Step 06 – Design and development
First step in designing involves user interface (UI) – be sure that it has a user-friendly design, aligns with the local market and the organizational culture.
Next step involves building a Minimum Viable Product (MVP). In this phase, you can test and collect feedback from the users. Once you have identified the weaknesses, you can improve the app performance and deliver a final product while minimizing extra costs.
Step 07 – Testing and maintenance
Testing your app is paramount to ensure it performs effectively in domains such as UI and backend. Different tools are available in this space that can help to speed-up the process and save-time.
Another important metric is to track metrics such as loading speed, subscriptions, retention rate and no. of installs. A comprehensive understanding of the technical stack is also useful for effective maintenance.
How much does it cost to develop a streaming app?
Building a streaming app can cost anywhere from $40,000 to $210,000. The final price depends on a few things, like how many features you want and how you decide to develop it.
Here’s what can affect the cost:
- Features: More features like different video qualities (HD, 4K) and multiple languages take longer to build, which means they cost more. Simpler features like login and profiles are quicker to make, but it can still be tricky to guess the exact price.
- Platform: Building an app for different devices like phones (iOS/Android) and computers (web) costs more because you basically need to build separate versions. A hybrid app (works on most devices) might cost around $100,000, while separate apps for each platform could cost up to $200,000.
- Development Model: There are two main ways to get your app built: Fixed Cost and Dedicated. Fixed Cost means you pay a set price for a set amount of work. This is good for smaller projects with a clear idea of what you want. Dedication is more flexible and lets you change your mind as you go, but it usually costs more. This is better for bigger projects where you might still be figuring things out.
Final Thoughts
This guide gave you a taste of what goes into building a live streaming app. Remember, it’s all about balancing your business goals with what your users will love. While an experienced developer can help you build a streaming app, this guide should give you a good starting point.
