Today, August 21, 2017, beginning at 10:15 a.m. PDT, a total solar eclipse will sweep across the United States. The fully eclipsed Sun will be visible along a 70-mile-wide path arching from Oregon to South Carolina. Millions of people have already travelled to this “path of totality” to watch as the moon entirely covers the face of the Sun.
For those not in the path, like those of us at Brightcove’s headquarters in Boston, we will experience a partial eclipse. That’s where the Exploratorium comes in. For those who can't make it to the path, the Exploratorium, along with their NASA partners, will be filming the event from two different locations - Madras, OR and Casper, WY - and sharing it with the world by live stream. You can watch live video streams powered by Brightcove on Exploratorium’s website and on their free Total Solar Eclipse App. Or, go to the Exploratorium live event site and join them for a special eclipse-day program.
In an effort to extend live stream content to more diverse audiences, Exploratorium partnered with Brightcove to debut its mobile app, Total Solar Eclipse, in early 2016. Shortly thereafter, Exploratorium delighted mobile viewers with an exclusive live stream of Micronesia’s solar eclipse, all powered by Brightcove. Although the event wasn’t widely recognized in the Western Hemisphere, huge numbers tuned in from Indonesia, India, and other a few parts of East Asia, all on the mobile app. By the end of that week, “Total Solar Eclipse” managed to rack up over 65,000 downloads.
Exploratorium then created on-demand assets from the live stream, distributing the video content to its website and social platforms. Remarkably, that solar eclipse footage attracted over 1.6 million video views and an equal amount of social impressions.
Now the app is in the spotlight once again, as excited viewers look for a way to watch the much-anticipated Total Solar Eclipse 2017 on the go. As of May 2017, Exploratorium’s app had been downloaded over 400,000 times, with 95% of the downloads coming from North America alone. With more than 22 million people expected to tune into the total eclipse today, those numbers are sure to explode.
Be sure to tune in today - I know we’ll be watching here at Brightcove!
Web: https://www.exploratorium.edu/eclipse
App: https://www.exploratorium.edu/explore/apps/total-solar-eclipse-app
Additional Live Video Resources:
How to Go Live, Flawlessly. 3 Essential Live Video Tips Worth Repeating
12 Ways to Use Live Video for Marketing, Sales, and in the Workplace
Learn more about how to stream your live event with Brightcove!