Twitter Brings Periscope Live Video Into the News Feed

Some users of Twitter’s app (left) will begin seeing auto-playing live video from Periscope in the news feed. Clicking on the video will open up the video (right). Twitter Inc.

Twitter touts itself as the destination to “see what’s happening right now.” But noticeably absent from its site are live-video feeds.

That will change on Tuesday for some mobile users, who will be able to watch live broadcasts hosted on sister app Periscope within the Twitter timeline. The new feature will bring a sense of real-time awe to the social-media service, potentially introducing the Periscope app to millions of new users and keep more of its content on Twitter.

Up until this move, Twitter users could only link to Periscope broadcasts on that separate app. The app, bought by Twitter in early 2015, has gripped millions of social-media users with the ability to easily broadcast their surroundings from smartphones. More than 100 million live feeds have appeared on Periscope in the 10 months since it launched.

To start, the Periscope integration will only be available to users of Twitter’s app on Apple mobile devices. These users will be able to watch live broadcasts as well as replay old ones until they expire. The broadcasts on Twitter will show comments and floating hearts — a colorful animation as viewers tap the screen in approval — that are a trademark of Periscope.

But users will have to go to the Periscope app to submit comments, send hearts or stream their own videos. They can do all the regular Twitter interactions like retweet, reply or like the tweet of the broadcast.

The integration was inevitable. Twitter bought Periscope last year before it even launched and the two have been tight ever since. When Periscope users start a broadcast, they and other viewers can share the broadcast via their Twitter accounts with a link to the broadcast.

For Periscope broadcasters – which include celebrities, politicians, journalists and its own cult of social media stars—the hope is that this new feature will lead to more viewers. There were 10 million accounts on Periscope as of August, compared to over 300 million monthly active users on Twitter.

The upside for Twitter users is that they could see more interesting content without the hassle of leaving it. For example, Twitter users who follow comedian Kevin Hart could have watched a Periscope broadcast of him and his plus-one go eat burgers following the Golden Globes Awards on Sunday without leaving the comfort of Twitter.

Such content plays into users’ preference for more videos and images, and less text. A potential downside is that the broadcasts — which automatically begin when a user scrolls through the timeline — could annoy users if they are duds.

Data-sensitive users also may not be crazy about auto-playing videos eating into their monthly data allotment. As with Twitter’s other video content, the auto-play feature will be on by default. Users can turn it off by going to settings. When doing so, auto-play will shut off for all video content, not just Periscope broadcasts.

Advertisers will be able to take advantage of this integration, too. While marketers can already use a Periscope link in a promoted tweet, that link will also be replaced by the actual broadcast. They will have the usual tools at their disposal to target the ad at users based on factors like interest, keyword, language and device.