Background Playlist: Keep Your Live Channel Running Behind Live Studio
Run a 24/7 Live Channel as your default and cut to a Live Studio show on the same stream. The Live Channel stays warm in the background and resumes without a gap when the show ends.
What's New
A Live Channel can now run as the background source for a stream, with a Live Studio show cutting in during scheduled or manual takeovers.
The Live Channel keeps playing the playlist behind the scenes. When the live show ends, the stream returns to the Live Channel content without a gap: no second stream URL, no audience confusion, no production scramble.
This is the missing piece for TV-style 24/7 channels with scheduled live programming.
Why It Matters
Until now, running a 24/7 channel with scheduled live shows required either:
Two separate streams (the channel and the live show), with viewers switching URLs, bad for retention
Manually swapping the stream's content type, error-prone, awkward transitions
Background playlist solves this. One stream URL, one audience, two modes, channel programming most of the time, live studio when scheduled.
This makes possible:
Church streams: 24/7 worship music + Sunday service cut-ins
News channels: rolling clip loop + live breaking-news cut-ins
Music channels: 24/7 mix + scheduled live DJ sets
Educational channels: course replay loops + live class sessions
Sports channels: recap rotation + live game commentary cut-ins
How It Works
Calendar-driven mode
In a Scheduled Stream:
The calendar's fallback (for example a Default Playlist) is your background channel programming
Live Input slots on the calendar take over the stream during their scheduled windows
When the slot ends, the stream returns to the next calendar entry, or the fallback
For setup details see Switching Between Live Channel and Live Studio Mid-Stream.
Manual mode
You can also use a Live Channel as the default and switch to Live Studio when needed:
Run a Live Channel
When you want to cut to a live show, click Take studio live in the stream header
The Live Channel keeps running in the background, ready to resume
When the live show ends, click Back to playlist; the channel picks up
What "Stays Warm" Means
The background Live Channel doesn't stop, it keeps progressing through its playlist or schedule even while Live Studio is taking the air. This means:
No restart latency when you switch back. The channel resumes from where it should be at that moment.
No content gaps in the playlist progression, viewers who tune in mid-show see the same channel state they would expect.
Calendar continuity preserved: scheduled blocks still fire on time even if Live Studio overlapped them briefly.
Try It
For calendar-driven cut-ins:
Create a Scheduled Stream
In Fallback Settings, set a Default Playlist with your 24/7 programming
Add a Live Input slot on the calendar for your live show times
Click Go Live
The slots open on schedule. With an encoder and Auto Go Live on, the show goes on air by itself. With browser cameras, click Take studio live when you're ready.
For manual cut-ins:
Run a Live Channel and open its Studio view
Click Take studio live when you want to cut in
Click Back to playlist when the show ends
For a full walkthrough see Switching Between Live Channel and Live Studio Mid-Stream.