How to Schedule a YouTube Live Stream

1. Go to YouTube Studio and click Create, then Go live. Live Control Room opens.
2. Select Manage on the left, then click Schedule Stream.
3. Click Create new, or click Reuse settings to copy the details, settings and stream key of a past stream.
4. On Details, enter a title and a description. You can also upload a thumbnail.
5. For OBS or another encoder, keep the broadcast type Streaming software.
6. Under Audience, answer the required made for kids question.
7. On Customization, set the live chat options.
8. On Visibility, choose Private, Unlisted or Public. Under Schedule, set the date and time.
9. Click Done to create the scheduled stream.

In your encoder, enter the stream URL and the stream key of this scheduled stream. See how to get your YouTube stream key.

1. Open the YouTube app and tap Create, then Live.
2. Tap Edit to enter your live stream details.
3. Select Schedule for later and pick a date.

To start it later, tap Create, then Live, then Calendar. Select your stream and tap Go live.

With auto-start on in the stream settings, starting your encoder starts the stream. With auto-stop on, stopping the encoder ends it.

If you miss the time, you can start the stream later: select Manage, click the stream, then click Go Live. For an encoder stream, start your encoder first. YouTube Help describes no expiry for a scheduled stream.

Viewers get a public watch page with chat. Reminders arrive about 30 minutes before the start and again when it starts.

A Premiere plays one video once, at up to 1080p. It does not work for Shorts, 360 or VR180 videos.

A Premiere is not a live stream. For a live stream that starts on its own, something must send the video at that time.

1. Add your video or playlist and a YouTube destination, as in the 24/7 setup guide.
2. Open the stream, find the Schedule section and keep Recurrence on None. For a stream every Sunday, see the next section.
3. Turn on Schedule loop and type a start time in your local time, such as tomorrow 9am.
4. To stop at a set time, turn on Loop expiration and enter a duration or an end time.
5. Click Schedule the stream.

The stream starts within about a minute of your time, because Streamloop checks schedules once a minute.

With a YouTube sign-in, Streamloop creates the YouTube broadcast with your title and thumbnail when the stream starts. Streamloop does not promise an upcoming YouTube event before the start, so for reminders days ahead, use YouTube Studio or a Premiere. With a stream key, Streamloop sends only the video, and you set the details in YouTube Studio.

1. In the Schedule section, set Recurrence to Daily or Weekly.
2. For Weekly, select the weekdays. With no weekday selected, the stream repeats every 7 days.
3. In the From and to fields, set the window in your local time zone. It must be shorter than 24 hours.
4. Click Schedule.

With a YouTube sign-in, Streamloop checks at each start that your channel can go live. If a check fails, the stream does not start, and the repeat pauses until you fix the problem and schedule it again.

For weekly service replays, see how to live stream church services.

A 3-hour window every Sunday at 1080p30 uses about $0.21 of credit in 30 days, before fees.