Request automated streaming to social media

What's inside this article:

• Basic information
• Avoid failed distribution
• Send a distribution request
• Add metadata
• Check if the request was successful
• Troubleshooting
• Enable notifications

Basic information

Multimedia distribution is a feature in Pangea CMS, which lets you conveniently send video content to social media. You might use Multimedia distribution to share the following types of content:

• Live video streams: Stream a live Video show to a maximum of 1 YouTube and 1 Facebook account.
• On-demand video content: Send an on-demand video to an unlimited number of YouTube and Facebook accounts.

This article explains how to set up Multimedia distribution for live Video shows. For information about on-demand distribution, see the alternative article below:

• Send an on-demand video to social media

If you want a live Video show to stream to social media, you need to request distribution no later than 5 minutes before the start time for the show. After you confirm a distribution request from Pangea CMS:

1. Pangea sends the request to the social media platform.
2. The social media platform processes the request.
3. If the social media platform accepts your request, the show will automatically stream to the social media account at the scheduled start time.

This process is described in detail in the sections below.

NOTE: Multimedia distribution is not available in Pangea CMS by default. We can enable this feature on request for individual services. If your service would like to start using Multimedia distribution, contact Pangea Customer Care.

Avoid failed distribution

To avoid errors and failed distribution:

• Send the request no later than 5 minutes before the start time for the show. This leaves sufficient time for the social media platform to process the request.
• Do not change the metadata during the 5 minutes immediately before the start time for the show.
• For requests to YouTube, ensure that the Title is 100 characters or less (including spaces). For Facebook, the Title can include up to 254 characters.

If you need to stream to social media at short notice, we suggest using the Manual live stream tool instead. For details, see the following article:

• Introducing Manual live stream

Send a distribution request

We suggest setting up Multimedia distribution requests from Scheduler (not Template week). This reduces the risk of errors and allows you to add unique metadata (title and description) for each episode of the show.

For an introduction to Scheduler & Template week, see the alternative article below:

• Introducing Scheduler & Template week

To send a distribution request to social media:

1. In Scheduler, click the relevant Video show and hit Edit.

   

2. If necessary, update the metadata that will be shared with the show.

   

3. Scroll to the Multimedia distribution section.

   

4. Select each account where you want to stream the show. You can select a maximum of one YouTube account and one Facebook account.

   

5. Hit Save to confirm the request(s).

   

You see the status Waiting to be processed by the distribution partner next to each request.

Before the start time for the show, it is important to check if your request was successfully processed by the social media platform. The following rules apply:

• YouTube: Starts processing each request within minutes of receiving it. This means you can check if the request was successful almost immediately.
• Facebook: Does not start processing each request until 2-3 minutes before the start time for the show. This means you cannot check if the request was successful until 2-3 minutes before the start time.

Go to Check if the request was successful for more details.

Add metadata

On the Video show edit page in Pangea CMS, you can define the metadata:

• (A): Title
• (B): Description
• (C): Main visual

This metadata will be displayed in your social media account(s).

IMPORTANT: Distribution to YouTube will fail if the Title is longer than 100 characters (including spaces). For distribution to Facebook, the Title can include up to 254 characters.

Check if the request was successful

YouTube and Facebook handle streaming requests differently. For details, go to the relevant section below:

• YouTube
• Facebook

YouTube

YouTube starts processing each request within minutes of receiving it. This means you can check if the request was successful almost immediately.

TIP: Check the status in Scheduler no later than 5 minutes before the start time.

Normally, you see the following statuses in order:

1. Waiting to be processed by the distribution partner: Pangea has sent the request to YouTube.
2. Processing item: YouTube is processing the request.
3. Distributed to partner: The request has been successfully processed by YouTube. At the scheduled start time, the show will stream to YouTube.

In rare cases, you might see the Distribution failed status. For more information and guidance, go to the Troubleshooting section.

Facebook

Facebook does not start processing each request until 2-3 minutes before the start time for the show. This means you cannot check if the request was successful until 2-3 minutes before the start time.

TIP: Check the status in Scheduler 2-3 minutes before the start time.

Normally, you see the following statuses in order:

1. Waiting to be processed by the distribution partner: Pangea has sent the request to Facebook.
2. Processing item: Facebook is processing the request.
3. Distributed to partner: The request has been successfully processed by Facebook. At the scheduled start time, the show will stream to Facebook.

In rare cases, you might see the Distribution failed status. For more information and guidance, go to the Troubleshooting section.

Troubleshooting

In rare cases, you might see the Distribution failed status.

Failed distribution is normally caused by changes to the social media account, such as:

• The password for the account has been changed.
• Access rights for the account have been changed.
• The token that Pangea uses to access the account is broken or expired.
• The platform has blocked access because of security concerns.

You might take the following actions to resolve the issue:

• If you have enough time, try to reschedule the show and send the distribution request again.
• If you have enough time, contact Pangea Customer Care for assistance.
• If it is less than 5 minutes before the start time for the show, consider sending the stream to social media using Manual live stream instead.

Enable notifications

From your User account in Pangea CMS, you can enable notifications for the following event:

• Failed streaming synchronization with social media

When this notification event is enabled:

• We will notify you about failed requests for automated streaming to social media.
• You will see the notification before the start time for the show. This allows time to take action and ensure the show streams as planned. For more information and guidance, go to the Troubleshooting section.

You can choose to receive these notifications by Pangea message, email, or both. For more details, see the following article:

• Update your User account