Setting up a Teams Live Event

This article explores Microsoft Teams a live events extension of Teams meetings that enable you to schedule and produce events that stream to large online audiences.

Getting Started

There are two ways you can produce a live event. Directly through Teams using your laptop or through an external device and encoder. The steps below will focus on using Teams and your laptop for live events.

Production tool

Description

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. Your laptop will need a camera and microphone built in or have an external camera and microphone attached to your device.

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 Roles and Responsibilities

Large live streaming events typically have several people working behind the scenes—the event group—to make them successful. You may have one-person complete the tasks of more than one role if necessary.

Role

Responsibilities

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.

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

Attendee

A viewer. Watches the event live or on-demand, using DVR controls, either anonymously or authenticated. Can participate in Q&A.

Who can create live events?

Any SSD employee may create a live event using Microsoft Teams in Office 365.

Who can attend live events?

Event type

Description

Event type

Description

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. Only SSD employees may login and access private events.



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, Edge (New), Firefox, and Safari

Type

Desktop

Web

Mobile

Type

Desktop

Web

Mobile

Producer

Yes

No

No

Presenter

Yes

No

No

Attendee

Yes

Yes

Yes

 

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


Scheduling a live event

If you are the organizer of a live event, you can schedule it in Teams the same way you schedule a regular Teams meeting.  This process will add the live event to you and your event group's calendars. After that, you'll need to invite the attendees.      

  1. In Teams, select Calendar from the panel on the left.

  2. In the upper-right corner of the next screen, choose New meeting > Live event.

  3. Add the meeting title, date and time information, and other details.In the Invite people to your event group box, add the names of your event group—the people who'll be presenting and producing the event. The event group can consist of anyone inside or outside your org. Just don't invite attendees at this point—you'll get a link to share with them later.

  4. Select Next.

  5. Under Live event permissions, choose who can attend your live event.

Permission type

Description

Permission type

Description

People and groups

The event can only be watched by people, contact groups, or Microsoft 365 groups you name (max. 150 email addresses).

Org-wide

Everyone in your org can watch the live event, including guests.

Public

Anyone can join – both people in your org and those outside of it.   

  1. Make selections under How will you produce your live event?

  2. If you're producing in Teams:

Setting

Description

Setting

Description

Recording available to producers and presenters

A recording is available to producers for download for 180 days after the event is over.

Recording available to attendees

Attendees can watch the event on demand using DVR options for 180 days.

Captions

Captions are available to event participants.

Spoken Languages

Set the default language in which the presenter will be speaking. English is set by default.

Translate to

Choose up to six different languages in which live captions will automatically be translated to during the event. User must select a language, from the choices you selected, for their subtitles once attending the live event.

Attendee engagement report

Download a report that tracks attendee participation.

Q&A

Attendees can interact with producers and presenters in a moderated Q&A.

  1. Select Schedule to add the event to you and your event group's calendars.

Once the event is scheduled, be sure to make any changes to it in Teams. Don't edit this event in Outlook. This process doesn't invite attendees to your live event! To learn about best practices for inviting attendees and announcing your live event, see the section below.


Inviting Attendees

As a live event organizer, one of the responsibilities is inviting attendees. When you schedule a live event in Teams, it only sends the calendar invite to event team members. You will need to promote and/or share the link for attendees.

  1. In Teams, select Calendar  on the left side of the app.

  2. Select the live event from your calendar.

  3. Select Get attendee link to copy the live event link so you can share it with attendees as you see fit. You may send it in a Teams channel, an email, a website like SSD Life, SSDMO or MLSchedules, or add it to any collaboration group you are a member of. You could even add the link to a calendar invitation from Outlook or another email program.

Don't try to invite attendees via a Teams meeting. A new Teams meeting will have its own meeting link, which users might confuse with the live event attendee link.

Your attendees will be able to watch the event in Teams—desktop (Windows or Mac), web, or mobile. If they don't have Teams, they can also use a browser (Chrome, Firefox, or Edge).


Resources

Check out the resources below for more help with Team Live Events.