Google has listed that YouTube Live will be the new home of the Hangouts On Air feature that is currently part of Google Plus, and that the feature will switch to being a part of YouTube Live beginning on September 12th. What this means for Hangouts On Air users is that they’ll simply have to use the feature in a different app than they did before, but the good news is that the feature isn’t disappearing, it’s just changing hands. Google mentions that after the above-listed date, that Hangouts On Air events can’t be scheduled through Google Plus, and those who already had events scheduled through Google Plus for after the 12th of next month will need to move them to YouTube Live if they want the event to continue.
For those that are worried about the switch, Google does list off a helpful set of instructions on how to make the shift over to YouTube Live, and it’s actually pretty simple and shouldn’t take too much time to complete. According to Google Support, setting up the Hangouts On Air events within YouTube Live starts by opening up the Creator Studio app and tapping on Live Events. From here users click on “New Live Event” and choose the Quick option for using Hangouts On Air.
The rest is pretty much the same as users will enter in a title for the live stream and then they can either choose to go live right then and there or set up the Hangouts On Air event for a scheduled time. The scheduled events are made possible with YouTube Live’s events scheduling feature that was baked right into the app. Not all Hangouts On Air features will be making the transition, as Applause, Q&A, and the Showcase features are listed as not currently being available in YouTube Live. The suggestion here seems to be that the features won’t end up being added into the app in the future. Hangouts On Air events can be set with varied levels of privacy just like any other YouTube videos, with settings for public, unlisted, and private. YouTube will also house other previously recorded Hangouts On Air sessions for users to go back and watch if they want to.