On offer immediately, Live Channels is said to enables an event to start live streaming directly from an encoder in under 30 seconds with replays available in under a minute. Multiple latency settings are offered, allowing live streamers to select the option that works best for their viewers - wherever they are and however they are accessing content.

Dashboards and application programming interfaces (APIs) provide flexible workflows to monitor and adjust the status of the stream. Viewers can be reached across mobile, desktop, and connected TV, plus multiple social channels at the same time.

JW Player says that with its new product, brands, web publishers and broadcasters can now deliver time-sensitive content to their viewers at broadcast-quality with minimal effort. Live Channels is said to offer a simple workflow to reach and monetise audiences with content across all devices and platforms, including web, mobile, OTT apps, and social.

“We’ve seen a 400% increase in live streaming across the JW Player network over the last month as audiences seek timely news as well as content like fitness classes and religious services.” explained JW Player co-founder and chief product officer Jeroen Wijering. “But it’s more than just a temporary spike. We see significant growth in average viewing sessions and return visits for sites that stream live content, especially with news and sports, so we have built a solution to make it easy for media companies to effectively and easily add engaging live broadcasts to their sites.”