What is a Skype Meeting Broadcast?
Applies ToSkype for Business Skype for Business Basic Skype for Business Online Skype for Business Online operated by 21Vianet

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.

An image of the Skype Meeting Broadcast portal

At the portal you can schedule a broadcast for up to 10,000 attendees. You can also choose to:

  • Secure the meeting so only attendees listed can attend.

  • Create a video recording of the meeting (a downloadable MP4 file).

  • Make a video on demand available after the meeting.

  • 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:

  1. If needed, upload any PowerPoint decks that will be presented during the meeting. Also cue live feeds from camera sources.

  2. Verify audio is working properly.

  3. Activate feeds.

  4. 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:

  • For Skype for Business 2015 apps, you must have the September Update, build 15.0.4747 or later.

  • For Skype for Business 2016 apps, you must be using Click-to-Run, build 16.0.4227 or later. (MSI installations only support the presenter role.) Event team members can join through a different client if no broadcast controls are needed, as explained in this knowledge base article.

  • Or, if you're using a Mac, only the Skype for Business application is supported (with no broadcast controls). See this knowledge base article for more information.

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:

  • Skype for Business Online Standalone Plan 2 (or 3).

  • Enterprise E1, E3, or E5 and Education A3 or A5 — which contains the Skype for Business Online Standalone Plan 2 license.

  • Event team members will be blocked if they are assigned one of the user licenses in this article.

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.

If your business has a firewall:

Related Topics

Skype Meeting Broadcast help

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