In short
- Internet for a stream involves three jobs: providing it, testing it and having a fallback.
- Each job needs a named owner. 'The venue will sort it' is not an owner.
- Our team is responsible for the stream. The connection usually belongs to the venue, unless agreed otherwise.
- Write the split into the quote or scope so nobody finds the gap on the day.
Decide who does three jobs: provides the connection, tests it before the day and has a fallback if it fails. Give each job a named owner and write it into the scope. Most livestream problems come from a gap between people who each thought the other had it covered.
Why does this get missed?
A livestream sits between several parties.
The venue runs the building and its network. The organiser runs the programme. Our team runs the cameras and the stream. Each can reasonably think the connection belongs to someone else.
Nobody sees the gap until the stream is about to start. Asking early costs little.
Who does what?
Here is a common split. It is an illustration, and your event may differ.
| Job | Usually sits with | What to agree |
|---|---|---|
| Provide a suitable connection | The venue, or the organiser by arrangement with the venue | What line, where, at what cost, and who arranges access |
| Test the connection in the room | Our stream producer, with venue access | Date, time and who attends from the venue |
| Run the stream and the platform | Our team | Which platform, which account, and who watches it live |
| Local recording kept on site | Our team | Confirm it is part of the scope |
| Backup connection | Agreed case by case | Who supplies it, who pays and who switches over |
| Telling viewers about problems | The organiser or a named helper | Where, by whom, and when |
| Contact at the venue during the event | The venue | A named person and how to reach them |
If an agency, an audio-visual (AV) supplier or a hotel events team sits in the middle, add them as their own line. The more parties, the more important a written split.
What does each side need to do?
The venue
Tell you what connection exists, whether you can have a wired or separate line, and what limits apply. Allow a test, and give you a technical contact for the event. Our list of what to ask about a venue livestream connection has the questions.
You, the organiser
Hold the venue to its answers, in writing. Decide who talks to viewers, and who has the final say if the stream must change. Pass the venue’s replies to us before booking, not after.
Our team
We review the venue’s answers, run the test, set up the stream and keep a local recording. If the connection looks too weak, we tell you early and set out the options.
What counts as a fallback?
A fallback is not one thing. It can include a second connection, a local recording, a message to viewers and a rule for restarting. Decide which of these you want and who owns each. The full list is in what happens if an event livestream loses its connection.
Put it in writing
A short written split is enough. Ask that your quote or scope covers:
- Who provides the connection, and any cost involved.
- When and where the test happens, and who attends.
- The fallback, and who switches to it.
- Who answers viewers, and who the venue contact is.
- What happens to costs if the venue’s offer changes.
You can run through all of this with the livestream planning checklist. It turns the split into questions you can take to the venue.
What if the answers are unclear?
If the venue is slow to reply or vague, treat that as information. Ask us whether to plan for your own connection, or to record and share the event afterwards. Our event livestreaming page explains what the service involves, and the live production guides cover the surrounding decisions, such as who owns the streaming account.
Tell us what the venue has said about its internet and who you are dealing with there. We will help you work out which jobs sit with the venue, with you and with us, and write them into the plan.
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