About

Reddit Public Access Network, also known as RPAN, is a video broadcast feature available on the website Reddit. Similar to Facebook Live, users can live stream video on the site, which can then be upvoted by other users to increase visibility.

History

On August 19th, 2019, Reddit^[1] moderator Sn00byD00 announced the launch of RPAN, "a limited-time broadcast experience." In the post, the Redditor explained that Reddit Public Access Network would allow users to stream live video over Reddit and subject the video to the upvote system. The post received more than 4,800 points (91% upvoted) and 900 comments in one week. They wrote:

Starting August 19 until 5PM PT, and from 9AM-5PM PT through Friday, August 23, redditors around the world will be able to create live broadcasts. In true Reddit fashion, voting will determine the top broadcast, and you can explore different broadcasts by swiping or clicking right or left. As you move further from the top broadcast, the broadcasts you see will be increasingly more random, so we encourage you to explore and vote!

First and foremost, this is about having fun as a Reddit community, and if you all enjoy it, we’ll continue to explore how it might work as an actual feature. So if you have thoughts, suggestions, or other feedback, please share that in the comments of this post. We genuinely want to hear what you all think, and we look through all of the comments we can, including those without many upvotes.

Features

Following the announcement, a panel titled "Reddit Public Access Network" appeared on Reddit's front page. From there, users could select videos, upvote or downvote their selection or chat live (screenshots below).

Highlights

Reception

Because of the slow rollout, many users were confused on how to use the feature. Redditor^[2] mushroomzeroart responded to the announcement by writing, "Cool stuff dude but how do we do it." The post received more than 1,600 points in two days.

On August 20th, Redditor^[3] brookelynfd asked the /r/OutOfTheLoop subreddit "What's up with the static image on the front page of Reddit?" Redditor^[4] Xfigico responded, "Answer: It's a new feature that Reddit is testing out: the Reddit Public Access Network, or r/pan. It's sort of similar to Facebook Live (at least that's what I've been told) and testing will be ending on Friday. People hate it because it's shoehorned into something that's not really related to it, others don't mind it for various reasons. Some people may see it, other's may not." The post received more than 4,400 points in 24 hours.

Search Interest

External References