How to Split Up Your Streaming Budget

Splitting up a budget for any church or organization can be a stressful process, even if you’re a master at finance. Between trying to cut costs, choosing the right investments, and strategizing for years to come, you can be left with areas lacking the funds they need. That’s why in this post, we’re covering how to split up your streaming budget to get the most out of what your wallet has to offer. Follow along as we dive into why streaming should be incorporated into your budget, how to figure out what your streaming needs are, how to effectively split up your streaming budget, and equipment suggestions for organizations of any size. 

Why Streaming Should Be in Your Budget

Considering the incorporation of streaming into a budget can sometimes leave organizations believing they only have two paths forward—either invest in physical attendance or focus on your digital audience. Not only is this perception entirely inaccurate, but it also oversimplifies the role streaming can play in a church’s growth and expansion. Streaming is not a roadmap to empty pews, but in fact a tool to build deeper relationships through every aspect of life. Whether someone is sick and unable to make it to a service, living in a distant location and unable to experience community, or simply yearning for a comforting resource throughout the week, congregants can use live streams, as well as other digital tools, to stay connected with their church’s message. And while this may be surprising to some, this type of consistent connection often results in higher in-person attendance and engagement. This is because people are naturally drawn to participate in communities, as well as organizations, that are part of their day-to-day life and well-being. 

But that’s not all! By using streaming, churches also open their doors to larger audiences by allowing people to “test out” their services and messaging. Experiencing a church digitally, before physically showing up, has become popular for those who feel nervous to walk into a new place. Thus, with a digital alternative, they can experience a service from a comfortable location, resulting in more confident and engaged potential members. So, next time you’re contemplating what to include in your budget, remember that streaming is an incredible tool to help build strong communities, both in-person and online. 

Figuring Out Your Streaming Needs

Every streaming setup requires a list of essential equipment, including a camera, audio system, switcher system, and some form of streaming software/provider. Once you have these requirements, it’s time to figure out the rest of your streaming needs. We suggest starting with defining your streaming goals, as this will help reveal what your immediate needs are, and what your eventual needs are. An example of an immediate need could be finding a streaming provider that checks all of your boxes, while an eventual need could be something loftier, like investing in a 4K camera. 

Another great way to decipher your tech-needs is by looking to your community. Start by compiling a report on how your congregation uses any technology you currently have. Track different areas like how many people are using it, how often they are using it, and how quickly people are adapting to any new tech too. This information will offer a closer look into your congregation’s overall tech-habits, which can reveal what sort of tools could be useful in the future. 

Once you have some good data under your belt, you can move onto another tactic—straight up asking your community. Whether you decide to utilize surveys, focus-groups, interviews, or simple conversations is up to you, but we suggest splitting up your community into three main groups:

Your congregation, your staff, and yourself. 

We advise you include the following questions for each group:

Streaming Questions To Ask Your Congregation:

• How often would you use a streaming alternative when you can’t physically attend?
• How confident do you feel using technology or digital tools?
• What types of features or tools would help with participation?
• What do you hope technology will add to your church experience?

Streaming Questions To Ask Your Staff:

• In what areas do you feel your workflow is struggling?
• What type of technology would make your job easier?
• When producing a live stream, what features or tools would be helpful?
• Are there any portions of our current technology that need to be replaced?

Streaming Questions To Ask Yourself:

• Is the majority of your congregation technologically-literate or -illiterate?
• What type of technology would help create the church experience you’d like to offer—both digitally and in-person?
• Does your current technology (or lack thereof) help your church grow?
• Could your current technology support an increase in growth?

The answers you derive from these questions will show what features and tools could be useful in your streaming setup, as well as help you understand how to best utilize the technology you get. With all of the information you collect from these tactics, you should be able to narrow down a list of streaming technology you need and begin getting ready to fully split up your budget. 

Splitting Up Your Live Streaming Budget

Now that you know what your exact streaming needs are, it’s time to figure out how to split up your budget and make sure all of your necessities are included. Every organization’s budget is going to look a little different, so don’t be worried if you need to adjust these suggestions to create what works best for you. Our Streaming Budget Checklist is a great resource to help guide you when working with your own budget, so be sure to sign up and download it before jumping in.

Below you’ll find two different examples on how to split up a budget, including a lower-budget and higher-budget option. We designed these examples to be as finically efficient as possible, while still including what we believe is essential. That being said, you are free to fine-tune how you utilize your money, whether that includes compromising in some areas, or spending more in others. 

Budget Example #1: Lower Budget

Let’s use an example involving an organization with no current streaming technology. Their total budget is $12,000, with $10,000 allocated for a one-time purchase of all equipment, and $2,000 allocated for their annual streaming subscription. Any leftover money should be saved for unexpected costs, such as music licensing, equipment repairs and upgrades, or anything else needed on the fly.

We split up this budget into 5 different areas, including Camera Equipment, Streaming Hardware, Switcher System, Audio System, and Extras. Each area will have a corresponding percentage that represents its portion of the total budget. 

1. Camera Equipment: 60%
2. Streaming Hardware: 20%
3. Switcher System: 10%
4. Audio System: 10%
5. Extras: 0%

As you can see, this budget is split with the majority of funding going toward Camera Equipment. Investing in high-quality cameras, even with a lower budget, is a great way to get professional-level streams with little equipment. You’ll also see the category labeled “Extras” has 0% allocated. When first getting started, there can be a lot of up-front costs, leaving very little for extra features and equipment. That being said, do not worry about the lack of funding in this area. As your streaming journey progresses, your budget will grow or have room for redistribution, allowing you to put more toward the “extras” you’re interested in.

Budget Example #2: Higher Budget

Our next example includes an organization with no current streaming setup, but a higher total budget of $60,000. $50,000 of this budget will be allocated toward a one-time purchase of equipment and $10,000 toward their annual streaming subscription. As stated before, any leftover money should go toward excess expenses, such as repairs, upgrades, and more.

1. Camera Equipment: 50%
2. Streaming Hardware: 15%
3. Switcher System: 15%
4. Audio System: 10%
5. Extras: 10%

As seen above, a higher budget allows organizations to distribute their money more evenly across each area. Having this balance is a great way to ensure that no areas are lacking the funding they need. You’ll also notice that with a larger-budget, organizations can put more toward “Extras”. This area might include equipment or features that are considered “nice-to-have” in a streaming setup, such as camera-sliders or stabilizers. That being said, you can choose to invest your “Extras” budget in any way you see fit. 

By following this guide, you should be able to reap the benefits of your budget, no matter if you’re working with a lot, or a little. Efficiently splitting up investments can help ensure you get all the essentials you need, while working toward the things you want as well. So, next time you’re splitting up your streaming budget, try and follow these examples and see if our advice works for you too!

Best Streaming Equipment (For High & Low Budgets)

In this section, you’ll find a list of equipment that provides the utmost quality on the market for every type of budget. Obviously, if you find different devices that you feel comfortable purchasing, feel free to invest in whatever pieces you like. Our industry expertise has simply provided us with a lot of knowledge about different systems and we believe the ones listed below produce the best results.

Camera Equipment

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Tripods

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SDI Cables

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Switcher Systems

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Audio System

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XLR Cables

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Audio/Video Embedder

Streaming Hardware For All Budgets

Finding A Reliable Streaming Service

Finding the right streaming provider to get your streams up and running is the most crucial step to streaming successfully. Resi Media offers an array of streaming solutions, all designed for varying budget-levels, that transform the effectiveness and quality of a live stream. Our technology equips users with the highest-quality streams possible and the ability to broadcast to any platform including Facebook, Youtube, their own website, and more! Plus, the Resi streaming platform is easy to use and provides a long list of features that help take production to the next level. 

Resi Streaming Plans

Social Only

Resi’s Social Only Plan includes the essentials for any streaming setup. For $99/mo, users get access to incredible features like Automated Scheduling, 1080p Simultaneous Streaming to Facebook and Youtube, and full email and phone support 7 days a week—yes even on weekends! Billed annually at $1,188, Social Only is the perfect streaming subscription for any organization working with a service budget of $2,000 or more—making it an excellent choice for lower-budget streaming.

Starter Lite

Resi’s Starter Lite Plan includes the essentials for any setup, plus some extra features and capabilities that make professional streaming a breeze. For $159/mo, users not only get all the same features as our Social Only Plan, but they also get access to Simulated Live streaming, an Embeddable Player with DVR, Audience Analytics, Unlimited Cloud Transcoding, and up to 7 days of video storage! Billed annually at $1,908, this streaming subscription offers the best of both worlds for lower and higher streaming budgets!

Pro

Resi’s Pro Plan is our top-of-the-line option, just below our Enterprise Plan, and includes every essential feature, extra feature, and storage feature you could need! For $259/mo, users get access to EVERY feature listed above in Social Only and Starter Lite, plus Stream URLs (DASH and HLS URLs for apps, etc.) and up to 30 days of video storage. Billed annually at $3,108, this streaming subscription is perfect for organizations looking to ensure they have every tool and capability available when making a flawless stream. 

We hope this post helps you split up your next streaming budget as effectively and efficiently as possible. If you have any questions about how to make your own budget work, sign up for our Streaming Budget Checklist to help guide you or contact our Sales Team here. One of our Sales Representatives can walk you through how to design a budget fit for your organization and help you choose a streaming plan that has everything you need to stream successfully.