Several cable networks and streaming services will air live today’s memorial service for NBA star Kobe Bryant.

The service, which celebrates the life of Bryant and his 13-year old daughter, Gianna -- who died Jan. 26 with seven others in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, Calif. -- will take place Feb. 24 at the sold out Staples Center in Los Angeles.

BET will provide live, commercial free coverage of the service starting at 1 pm, anchored by journalists Marc Lamont Hill and Jemele Hill. After the service, the network will air the 2015 Showtime documentary, Kobe Bryant’s Muse which looks at the NBA All-star’s 18-year career beyond his stats.

“I am grateful that the BET family had the opportunity to give Kobe his flowers while he was still with us, and we will continue to do so, as his legacy very greatly impacted ours,” said Scott Mills, president, BET Networks in a statement. “Our prayers are with the Bryant family during this difficult time.”

Other cable networks that will televise the celebration live include CNN, ESPN and NBA TV.

On the streaming side, CBS All Access will provide live coverage of the memorial along with ET! Live, NBA.com, ABC News Live, ETLive.com and BET.com. 

If you’re a programmer without a social-media strategy, you’re definitely in the minority. And if you do have one, speed is the name of the game.

Thanks to the consumer growth of Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram, networks must find new ways to engage with their audiences on those social networking platforms, and likewise assemble videos into snack-sized pieces and clips that can be sent out at a rapid pace — sometimes soon after they appear live on the air.

In addition to getting a digital team focused on that, the technical challenge has been the creation of an underlying workflow that makes it easy to ingest TV content and then package and send those on-demand snippets, as well as digital live feeds for offerings such as Facebook Live and Periscope, to various social media channels.

A company that’s been keying on this need and trend is Grabyo, which is already working with some programmers and digital-focused services and brands such as Univision, Buzzfeed, Universal Music, Major League Soccer, beIN sports, Big Ten Network, USA Rugby, BT Sport, the English Premier League and Spain’s La Liga, as well as top-flight soccer clubs FC Barcelona and Chelsea FC.

Related: Univision, Facebook Partner on Soccer Streaming

Though many networks and stations already deliver video to their own apps and websites, there can still be a disconnect between the TV and digital side of the house. Grabyo tries to solve this with a cloud-based platform that can work between those operational silos.

“This gives [our partners] a pure digital workflow … for social channels and even their own websites and apps,” Mike Kelley, president of Grabyo Americas, said. “This gives that power to create digital-first broadcasts for the digital team and their own workflow that works in high-speed digital time.”

Grabyo is already integrated with Facebook and Facebook Live and Twitter’s video offerings, as well as with YouTube. Grabyo said its system can also be used to edit video content in square and vertical formats to optimize that content for Instagram or Snapchat. For Instagram, clients can publish directly via the Grabyo Mobile app; for Snapchat, users can download from Grabyo and publish that content, as there is currently no third-party integration available on that platform yet.

Much of Grabyo’s recent handiwork has been happening with Univision, which leveraged Facebook Live following the Mexico City earthquake, and did the same for its coverage of the Grenfell Tower fire in London. Univision is also working with Grabyo to generate news clips that, they claim, have been generating more than 50 million views per month, and reaching more than 300 million users on Facebook.

Making It Snappy
Though Grabyo isn’t alone in the market, M&A action in that sector has apparently worked to its advantage. A startup called SnappyTV used a cloud-based platform to support similar kinds of services, and was acquired by Twitter in 2014. TechCrunch and others reported over the summer that Twitter was winding down SnappyTV and integrating some of SnappyTV’s features into a service called Media Studio. In fact, Univision had worked with SnappyTV for projects that included video highlights from the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Kelley said such shifts in the market are making the phone ring at Grabyo. “People are realizing how complex this space is and how challenging it is,” he said, noting that many content companies aren’t interested in taking on the technical challenge of creating video-focused workflows for critical social media distribution on their own.

While 2D digital video has been the big focus in recent years, Kelley said the next frontier for Grabyo’s platform and its content partners is virtual reality and 360-degree video, noting the embrace of those formats by Facebook and YouTube.

Oxygen Media is expanding its reach into social media with The Pursuit, an interactive, crime thriller game that will be offered via Facebook Live

The Pursuit, created in collaboration with digital agency Grow, will play out on Facebook, and is one of the first branded uses of Facebook Live 360, Oxygen said.

The experience got underway today at noon ET, with a 360-degree live walkthrough of the crime scene that fans can examine to uncover evidence and other clues.

Oxygen said new evidence (such as photos and videos linked to the case) will be surfaced on Facebook throughout the week, leading up to the finale event on Friday (Aug. 18), culminating with a “live interrogation with the suspect where viewers can ask questions and hear the response in real time.”

INDIANAPOLIS — Public speaking can be anything but easy.

Five minutes into his keynote presentation onstage at The Independent Show, industry consultant and futurist Shelly Palmer (pictured) made the best of a tough spot.

After the fog for a laser show had barely dissipated, jackhammers started pounding away on the roof, to the dismay of the speaker. Then, after a few minutes, fire alarm sirens and strobe lights started going off.

Then a Voice of God came to life on the PA system and tried to reassure Palmer that the fire alarm was being checked out, and it was probably a false alarm.

And in the words of the late Hunter S. Thompson, when the going gets rough, the weird turn pro.

Palmer whipped out his phone: “I think it’s time for Facebook Live. This is one of those moments….

“This is really funny, I mean, you know, in a weird, completely ‘are you kidding me?’ kind of way,” he continued. “In a minute, they’re re going to tell me if I can finish my speech or what’s behind door No. 2? Run like hell for the exit!”

Once on Facebook Live and streaming, he looked into his phone and began: “Hi, the strobes are going here. I’m onstage at NCTC. Here’s everybody. Notice the strobes … We’re live on Facebook right now. Wave everybody.”

After a bit more of that inspired improv, Palmer said goodbye to the assembled online masses. The sirens stopped, and he resumed his talk.

Spanish-language broadcaster Univision Communications will begin streaming select live Mexican soccer matches from its Univision Deportes portfolio of Liga MX matches inEnglish via Facebook Live on Feb. 18.
According to Univision, fans will be able to live stream about 46 games – starting with the matchup between America and Chivas this Saturday – throughout the rest of the year in real-time on the Univision Deportes Facebook page and via Facebook’s Video tab.
“Univision’s unparalleled soccer productions and coverage have always garnered great engagement from not only Spanish-speaking viewers, but English-speaking fans as well. Our Facebook partnership is an exciting opportunity for these fans to experience this great soccer in the language of their choice,” said Univision chief commercial officer and president of content distribution Tonia O’Connor in a statement. “TV options have evolved from broadcast to cable to SVOD. Now Facebook represents the next wave of TV and, given its scale, they are an ideal partner to distribute our Liga MX matches in English.”
This is not the first time Univision has streamed content via Facebook Live. Last year’s presidential debates, network newscasts and reality show finales have all been streamed by the network on the platform, according to a Univision spokesperson.But it is the first time the network has streamed live soccer in English.
According to Nielesen , about 18.3 million English-speaking persons aged 2 and over (P2+) watched soccer on Univision Communicatons networks (Univision, Galavision, UniMasand Univision Deportes) between July adn December 2016.
“We’re thrilled Univision is bringing Liga MX matches to Facebook,” said Facebook head of global sports partnerships Dan Reed, in a statement. “The move enables Facebook’s passionate community of soccer fans to watch, share, talk about and react to one of the sport’s most exciting leagues - all in one location. We are also committed to supporting Univision Deportes as it explores innovative ways to complement its television broadcasts. By delivering unique broadcasts via Facebook Live, Univision Deportes is able to further reach new audiences in a truly interactive and social manner.”
Liga MX is the highest-rated club soccer league in the U.S. across all networks, and Univision holds the rights to 17 of the 18 teams in the league.
“We strive to connect our audience with their passions, and we know that Liga MX fans are always looking for more ways to experience their favorite league - whether they are at home or on the go,” Univision Deportes president Juan Carlos Rodriguez said in a statement. “Now Facebook will bring the passionate and loyal fans of the most-watched soccer league in the U.S. their favorite matches to its Facebook Live platform, where Univision Deportes can also be the first to engage a new, dedicated audience in today’s mobile and connected world.”

Video Call Center, the live call-in video technology developed by veteran cable analyst Tom Wolzien, has been accepted as a Facebook Live media solution and broadcast partner.

The first Video Call Center produced show for Facebook Live – OMGOSS!P – began airing on the platform in July 2016.   

The VCC enables producers to receive remote video call-ins from smartphones, laptops and other devices, connecting reporters, celebrities and Facebook members in broadcast-quality programs. The VCC provides comprehensive editorial control and in-depth call moderation to ensure that only the most compelling and appropriate callers make it to air. This interaction between the host and callers is accomplished without the need for an expensive control room.

“The combination of Facebook Live and the Video Call Center creates a remarkable opportunity for media companies to quickly and easily create compelling, live, programs for delivery to Facebook’s millions of members,” said Video Call Center CEO Larry Thaler in a statement. “The partnership will help to ensure seamless integration within Facebook Live so producers can focus entirely on creative content, rather than technology, and Facebook Live viewers have one click access to engage with show hosts. This is a major step forward for truly Social TV.”

The integration with Facebook Live works with any video call application, meaning callers can join live from anywhere using any device. VCC has successfully tested more than a dozen IP video calling services, including Facebook Messenger, Skype TM, FaceTime® and Gruveo (WebRTC). New apps and new distribution platforms such as support for Facebook Live are being added all the time.

With the VCC, callers become part of broadcast quality television programs for Facebook Live that combine video calls, video clips, graphics and web content, all under the direct control of a host who can be located anywhere in the world. The exclusive Caller Queue™—the world’s first “Green Room in the Cloud”—allows show producers to welcome video callers into their live caller-based television programs or video events. Scalable to support the audience of live TV programs, producers have complete creative control to bring the right people to air at the precise moment when they would contribute to create the most compelling program.

In a promotional buildup to next week's second season premiere of drama series Narcos, Netflix is streaming the first 11 minutes of the show's sophomore season premiere episode on Facebook Live, the streaming service said Thursday.

The Facebook Live video of the series, which follows the true story of drug kingpin Pablo Escobar, opens with DEA agents acting as if they’ve stolen the first episode from Escobar and placing it on the Facebook page as a live video, said the streaming service..

The second season of Narcos debuts Sept. 2 on the streaming service.

Taking an enterprise angle on a market made popular by consumer-focused services such as Periscope, a startup called Stre.am said it has optimized its mobile live streaming app for business customers.

Early on, its new live video service platform has netted deals with partners that include The Volvo Car Open, Vainglory (a mobile multi-player game), Arsenic Magazine, and Charleston Battery of the United Soccer League.

Stre.am has also been working with the Jacksonville Jaguars, which is using the platform to boost in-stadium fan engagement by letting fans upload videos to a control room that selects them for display on EverBank Field’s jumbotron.

Stre.am hopes to stand out with from platforms like Facebook Live and Periscope with respect to enterprises with a device-agnostic (including mobile devices and GoPro cameras), white-label strategy that can quickly add live streaming to its partners’ arsenals and to embed that capability into their own web sites and apps, explained Will Jamieson, Stre.am’s chief marketing officer.

Jamieson, an exec who was also on the founding team at Yik Yak (a location-based social network), said Stre.am’s approach, which will be shown at NAB, allows brands and media companies to aggregate content to their own digital properties, and control how it’s being used and distributed.  Under the model, partners go live using Stre.am's general app alongside access to a backend, Web-powered console that allows for customization and control. 

Early on, Strea.am will give the product away to build up use-cases, but is in the process of introducing a business model that sells the product on bandwidth usage and feature sets.

Among other early use cases, The Volvo Car Open is using Stre.am Enterprise to broadcast live video from outer tournament tennis courts, including practice courts.

Stre.am was founded in 2014 and launched a product the following year that was consumer focused. The Charleston, S.C.-based company has about 15 employees and is in the process of raising an “A” round.