Periscope isn’t closing down, even though you can now broadcast directly from Twitter

Twitter ramped up its live video credentials today with the news that you will now be able to broadcast live video directly from within Twitter. Great news for sure, but where does that leave Periscope, the live video startup it acquired way back in 2015?

While you could already watch Periscope broadcasts from within Twitter, until now, you’ve had to broadcast from Periscope itself. Moving forward, whenever you compose a tweet, you will be presented with a Live button that transports you to a pre-broadcast screen through which you can frame your shot before hitting Go Live. That sounds as though it’s game over for Periscope, but that ain’t so — Periscope is being maintained as a separate, standalone product, according to the Verge. Why? Because not all Periscope users are active on Twitter.

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Needless to say, Twitter’s move is a direct nod to what Facebook has been doing in recent times with its own live video efforts, whereby anyone can launch a live broadcast directly from within the Facebook mobile app. Facebook Live opened to all iOS users in the U.S. back in January, following a short period during which availability was limited to celebrities and those with verified profiles. It expanded to Android phones the following month.

Earlier this year, Facebook cofounder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg responded to a question about what he would do if he were Twitter’s CEO by saying that he would do more with live video:

‘Live’ is going to be an awesome thing for public figures… Imagine your favorite public figure or politician having the power to broadcast from their pocket, go live, have an audience of thousands of people.

There’s a lot more that needs to be done to give people the ability to connect with the people and figures they’re interested in. I think you’re going to see a lot of that on Instagram and Facebook, and if the Twitter folks do a good job, I think you’ll see a lot more of that on Twitter too.

Twitter’s live video push isn’t limited to user broadcasts, as the company has been expanding into professional content, too. Earlier this month, the social network partnered with Disney to broadcast exclusive footage from the upcoming Star Wars flick, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Throw into the mix live NFL games, political coverage, and standalone live video apps, and it’s clear that Twitter sees video playing a core role in its future.

Twitter says it will be updating its Android and iOS apps in the coming days to facilitate live broadcasting.