How Much Does it Cost to Stream an Event in Chicago

Live event streaming is a popular activity for business in Chicago. In fact, COVID-19 largely contributed to the growth of the live stream trend when businesses throughout the city were closed due to concerns over health and safety. As such, many businesses were forced to find new ways to connect with consumers and actively engage audiences without risking their health. Event streaming has continued to gain popularity for businesses in the city, but how much does it cost to stream an event in Chicago, and is it really worth the investment?

It’s a question we are frequently asked at Beverly Boy Productions, and we try to provide the answers that are most suitable to our clients.

Live stream costs in Chicago range from about $1,000 to $5,000 per day for most events but the size of crew, length of event, and other factors can cause the cost to be significantly higher.

Chicago Event Streaming Crew Costs

Hiring a live stream crew will help you to achieve success with your event stream, but it certainly comes at a cost. Expect to spend between $100 and $250 per crew member, per hour.

Crew rates are largely dependent upon the experience and expertise of the crew member.

Local Chicago live stream crew rates vary as follows:

• Director – up to $250 per hour
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• Camera Operator – up to $400 per hour
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• Equipment – up to $100s per hour
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• Narrator – up to $400 per hour
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• Switcher – up to $200 per hour
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• Streaming platform – $50 to $1,000 (depends on the platform and usage)
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• B-Roll – usually a percentage of the total cost between 10 and 50%
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• Miscellaneous Fees – very little or could be 1,000s

In addition to these rates you can also expect to spend upwards of $250 per hour for a broadcast engineer.

This is the individual responsible for the technical aspects of your live stream production and will make sure that the crew has everything in order for a successful broadcast.

Can’t I Just Stream for Free?

While you may think you can live stream your Chicago event for free via Facebook Live or YouTube Live, there are definitely downsides to using this technology for your business.

Livestreaming via free platforms eliminates any control that you have over your audience, commercial delivery, or how your event is streamed.

This means:

• You have no control over who sees your event.
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• You have no control over when the event is streamed.
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• You have no control over the types of advertisements that show during your event (competitor ads may show in your event to YOUR audience)
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• Your event could get cut off.

Live streaming for free may have value but not for a business event!

Additional Thoughts

When you ask, “How much does it cost to stream an event in Chicago,” we instantly think about all of the potential crew and equipment needs and how that contributes to the cost of the stream.

Before you live stream an event for your business in Chicago make sure you’ve considered the crew size, whether you need a CDN, what technology needs you’ll have and where your venue will be. 

The total cost to stream will be between about $1,000 and $5,000 per day for most events. Larger events, a large crew, or multiple day events can result in costs tens of thousands of dollars.