Important: 

  • Teams live events will no longer be going away on September 30, 2024, as previously announced. While we still recommend switching to Teams town halls for new features and experiences, you can now schedule live events beyond September 2024.

  • For more information, please read this blog post for more information.

Microsoft Teams live events are an extension of Teams meetings that enable you to schedule and produce events that stream to large online audiences.

In this article

Live event types

There are two ways you can produce a live event:

Production tool

Description

Teams

Plug in your laptop and go...

Produce the live event using Teams, a lightweight option to create the event and invite presenters and panelists to participate on their own devices.

An external app or device

Professional camera and sound setup

Produce the live event using an external hardware or software encoder via Microsoft Stream. Use this option if you already have a production setup (for example, media mixers) that supports streaming to an RTMP service. This method is typically used in auditorium events, such as town halls, where a stream from a media mixer is broadcast to the audience.

Event group roles

Large live streaming events typically have several people working behind the scenes—the event group—to make them successful.

Role

Responsibilities

Organizer

Schedules a live event and ensures the event is set up with the right permissions for attendees and the event group, who will manage the event.

  • Creates the live event.

  • Sets attendee permissions.

  • Selects production method.

  • Configures event options (for example, the moderated Q&A)

  • Invites attendees.

  • Selects event group members.

  • Manages reports generated after the event is over.

For more info, see the organizer checklist.

Producer

As a host, makes sure attendees have a great viewing experience by controlling the live event stream.

  • Starts and stops the live event.

  • Shares own video.

  • Share participant video.

  • Shares active desktop or window.

  • Selects layouts.

Presenter

Presents audio, video, or a screen to the live event, or moderates Q&A.

Notes: 

  • Presenters can only share audio, video, or a screen (desktop or window) in live events produced in Teams.

  • On the iPad, presenters can't currently moderate Q&As or share their system audio.

Event attendees are not considered part of the "event group." Attendees watch the event live or on demand, using DVR controls, either anonymously or authenticated. They can participate in Q&A.

Who can create live events

To be able to create a live event, a person needs:

  • An Office 365 Enterprise E1, E3, or E5 license or a Office 365 A3 or A5 license.

  • Admin permission to create Teams live events.

  • Permission to create live events in Microsoft Stream for events produced using an external broadcasting app or device.

  • Full team membership in the org (can’t be a guest or from another org).

  • Private meeting scheduling, screensharing, and IP video sharing permission.

Note: When scheduling a live event in Teams, you'll be prompted to open the scheduling form in Teams for web. Other capabilities, like joining and producing live events, are supported on Teams for desktop.

To learn more, see Schedule a live event in Microsoft Teams or contact your IT admin.​​​​​​​

Who can attend live events

Public events

If an event is public, anyone who has the link can attend without logging in.

Private events

If attendance is restricted to your org or to specific people and groups, attendees will need to log in to join.

If the event is produced in Teams, they'll need a license that includes Teams. If it's produced externally, they'll need one that includes Microsoft Stream.

Notes: 

  • Attendees need to enable third-party cookies in their browsers to watch a live event.

  • Guest users can't join as attendees on the web, and must join using either desktop, iPad, or mobile.

System requirements and supported platforms

  • Supported operating systems: Windows 7 and later (32-bit and 64-bit), macOS X 10.10 and later

  • Supported mobile operating systems: Android 4.4 and later, iOS 10 and later

  • Supported web browsers: Chrome (last 3 versions), Edge RS2 and later, Firefox (last 3 versions), Safari.

Note: Linux isn't supported for live events.

Supported platforms

Desktop

Web

iPad

Mobile

Producer

Yes

No

No

No

Presenter

Yes

No

Yes

No

Attendee

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Notes: 

  • Attendee, Presenter and Producer experiences are fully supported on New Teams client, Organizer's scheduling/editing capabilities are redirected to Teams web experience.

  • Teams Rooms on Windows can only support live event presenters.

  • Teams for Windows 10 S can't support presenters or producers.

Related topics

Schedule a live event

Produce your live event​​​​​​​

Manage live event recordings and reports

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