Skype Meeting Broadcast is a feature of Skype for Business Online and Microsoft 365 that enables you to schedule, produce, and broadcast meetings or events to online audiences up to 10,000 attendees. The Skype Meeting Broadcast portal is where you schedule a meeting of this size.
Important: Skype for Business Online is retiring on July 31, 2021, at which time access to the service will end. We encourage customers to begin the upgrade to Microsoft Teams, the core client for communications and teamwork in Microsoft 365.
Get started with Skype Meeting Broadcast
After your admin enables Skype Meeting Broadcast the Skype Meeting Broadcast feature for your organization, you can start using it. If the feature hasn't been enabled, you'll get a message that you don't have permissions to use it.
Step 1: Schedule your broadcast
You use the Skype Meeting Broadcast portal to schedule a broadcast. This is what the portal looks like.
At the portal you can schedule a broadcast for up to 10,000 attendees. You can also choose to:
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Secure the meeting so only attendees listed can attend.
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Create a video recording of the meeting (a downloadable MP4 file).
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Make a video on demand available after the meeting.
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Add an audience participation app, such as the voting app Microsoft Pulse. It let's you keep attendees engaged, and you'll know how the event is being received real-time.
Step 2: Produce your broadcast event
Now you switch to Skype for Business to produce your event:
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If needed, upload any PowerPoint decks that will be presented during the meeting. Also cue live feeds from camera sources.
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Verify audio is working properly.
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Activate feeds.
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Start and stop the broadcast.
Step 3: Download the recorded meeting and meeting report
When your broadcast is finished, go back to Skype Meeting Broadcast portal to download a recording of the broadcast, and a report about the event. The meeting report includes session IDs, participant names and email addresses, browser information, date and time stamps, activities (join, play, pause), and language. You can use this information to contact attendees with followup information about the broadcast.
Skype Meeting Broadcast roles
In a large business there might be several people involved in producing a broadcast meeting.
Role |
What this person does |
Organizer |
Creates the meeting request and invites attendees, reviews meeting reports, and posts the recording to Microsoft 365 Video. |
Event team member |
Manages the meeting sources (PowerPoint, audio, and video) and manages broadcast producing controls. Event team members can also participate in the meeting as a speaker or presenter. Note: Using an embedded video in a PowerPoint presentation is currently not supported in Skype Meeting Broadcast. |
Attendee |
Watches the event online. |
System requirements
Here's what each role needs to produce or attend a meeting broadcast.
Role |
What software they need |
---|---|
Attendees |
Edge, Internet Explorer 11, Chrome 35 or later, Firefox, OSX Safari, iOS 8 or later, Android (KitKat) Note: Adobe Flash is required for Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 7, Firefox versions 41 and earlier, as well as Safari on Mac. |
Event team members |
Skype for Business installed on their PC. You need to make sure you have a recent version of the Skype for Business app. To find out which version you're using, in Skype for Business choose Help > About Skype for Business. You need one of the following versions:
If your version is older than the above, uninstall the app and then download and install it again. To host the meeting, producers need following licenses:
Note: Microsoft Intune Managed Browser on your phone is currently not supported for Skype Meeting Broadcast. |
Getting started for event team members and attendees
Getting started for admins
These articles explain what you need to do so your business can host Skype Meeting Broadcast meetings.
Note: Skype Meeting Broadcast is available to EDU organizations with Office 365 A5 or Office 365 A3. For more information, see Blocked user licenses for Skype Meeting Broadcast.
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If you haven't done so already, set up Skype for Business Online for your organization.
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Enable Skype Meeting Broadcast: After you enable the feature, users can broadcast meetings to other people within your business.
If your business has a firewall:
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To add other businesses to your federation of trusted users so you can broadcast with them, do the steps in Users can contact external Skype for Business users.
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If you have a you want to broadcast webinars or other meetings with attendees outside of your business, you need to configure your network. See Set up your network for Skype Meeting Broadcast.
OR
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Configure your on-premises deployment for Skype Meeting Broadcast. This article is for customers using Skype for Business Server 2015.