Periscope Or Meerkat: Who'll Emerge The Winner Of Live Streaming?

Twitter Inc TWTR is betting it big on live streaming to be the next big thing in video sharing space with its recently acquired app, Periscope. However, it is expected to face some tough competition from a similar service, Meerkat.

Michael Learmonth, editor of tech, media and culture at International Business Times, was on CNBC Friday to discuss the differences and similarities between the two services.

The Big Difference

"Well, back in February when Meerkat launched, a lot of people said, this is the app Twitter should have built," Learmonth said. "It turns out, they were building this app and they introduced it yesterday. So, that is a huge headwind for Meerkat.

Related Link: Why Twitter Is An "Indispensable" Part Of The Economy

"And the biggest difference is that the Periscope livestream you can actually watch within Twitter, and I think that's a big advantage over Meeerkat, where you have to link out to watch the actual stream."

Who Has The Advantage?

On which among the two services has the advantage, Learmonth said, "Periscope has access to all 260 million Twitter users, and that's a giant user base right at the onset.

"But Meerkat, by the way, raised $40 million from a bunch of big Hollywood names like William Morris and CAA and Universal Music Group.

"So, you can imagine a lot of celebrities are going to go for Meerkat, and I think this is going to play out the way Vine did and the way Instagram did.

"You are going to see celebrities emerge that are just very good live streamers," Learmonth concluded.