Facebook to compete with Periscope by introducing live video feature

Facebook will roll-out its live video broadcasting feature on its iPhone app very soon. The social media giant on 28 January said the feature would have a dedicated space within the company's iPhone app and would be rolled-out to all iPhone users in the US in the next few weeks.

Facebook began testing the feature among a fraction of its iPhone users in the US in December 2015. The tech giant seems to be working on a fragmented roll-out plan, with US users having the opportunity to try out the feature first, followed by the rest of the world. The social media giant is still developing an android compatible version of the feature.

Facebook product manager Vadim Lavrusik in a blog said the new feature would provide users with the option of broadcasting videos live on their profiles. Users will be able to access the live video feature by opening a new status and tapping on the "live video" icon. They will also be able to check how many live views the video has received and start a comments thread.

In the blog post Lavrusik added: "You can discover live videos from your friends and public figures you follow right in News Feed. While watching a live video, you can tap the Subscribe button to get notified the next time the broadcaster goes live." The subscribe button on the feature is an addition that allows users to keep a track of broadcasts posted by specific users, particularly public figures, many of whom, according to the post, have already tried out the feature and shared live videos with fans using Facebook Mentions.

Facebook's live video broadcast feature is sure to be a serious contender for Twitter's Periscope. Its recent shares soar also indicate that it is likely to surge past competitors like Google in ad sales and mobile user growth. Overall, the company's current business trajectory seems to be on a steady and profitable climb.

Facebook's announcement comes a day after the tech giant made public its intention to launch yet another feature — Reactions, an emoji laden expanded version of the like button. The tech firm has not yet specified a release date for either of the new features. However, both are expected to be rolled-out in the coming weeks.