San Francisco (Online): Facebook announced to launch live audio streaming feature soon that will let people essentially broadcast radio-style on the leading online social network.
Facebook began testing a live audio streaming service which will allow the users to broadcast their voice live just like a radio broadcast. The new feature comes as an alternative to "Facebook Live" video streaming service that lets people stream live video at the social network.
Partners working with Facebook to test "Live Audio" included BBC World Service, book publisher HarperCollins, British talk radio station LBC, and authors Adam Grant and Brit Bennett.
Facebook product specialist Shirley Ip and software engineer Bhavana Radhakrishnan said in a blog post, "We know that sometimes publishers want to tell a story on Facebook with words and not video."
According to the post, an audio-streaming option promised to be useful in areas where telecommunication networks have trouble handling the larger data demands of video streaming.
Listeners can discover live audio content in the Facebook News Feed, ask questions and leave reactions in real time during broadcasts.
Facebook said it would be testing Audio Live with partners in coming weeks and then roll it out more broadly next year.
