OnNow.tv unveils metadata standards for live streaming

The first version of the metadata standards, which can now be viewed here, outlines basic descriptive information about audio-visual files, including the creator’s name, live-stream date, language, title, event type (if the live stream is also a physical event), ticketing, broadcast type, and cadence if the live stream is part of a series or recurring stream.

The standards seek to make data more consistent, distributable and useful across live-streaming platforms, as well as assist creators and viewers to move seamlessly across platforms. They can be applied to all simultaneously broadcast video and audio streams. The company promises that the standards will reduce time spent by creators describing and classifying their content, while reducing friction in data distribution for the live-streaming industry.

“We are not a streaming platform or service, but an online guide to help viewers find and tune into live streams that matter to them,” OnNow.tv CEO Matthew Adell said.

“Because of the nature of our work, we’ve had to untangle the varied metadata definitions and we see how improving metadata as an industry will benefit everyone.”

Author of Twitch for Musicians and live-streaming expert Karen Allen said: “As popular as live streaming is, one of the biggest challenges for creators is promoting their stream beyond their followers.

"Music streamers in particular are experimenting across many platforms at once, which makes having a centralised listing of upcoming streams like OnNow.tv a treasured resource.”

StageIt and Tixr are the first companies to support the initiative, but the key would be to get the biggest platforms to join in.

Live streaming has seen meteoric growth in the first half of the year. Video streaming platform Twitch grew by 83% year-on-year with more than 5 billion hours watched since the beginning of 2018. However, a lack of universal metadata standards could impede market growth by further undermining discoverability. Only 12% of streaming video viewers found it easy to discover the kind of content that interested them on streaming platforms, according to a PwC report.