Zoom has announced that its webinar feature now supports up to one million participants simultaneously. This expansion comes after various political groups used the platform to raise funds for Vice President Kamala Harris’ election campaign, often hosting events with hundreds of thousands of attendees.
Zoom now offers several tiers for large-scale events, ranging from webinars for 10,000 to 1 million participants. These single-use packages come with assistance from Zoom’s Event Services team to ensure a smooth and engaging experience for all attendees.
“Event organizers now have the flexibility and power to create truly interactive experiences at an unprecedented scale,” said Smita Hashim, Zoom’s chief product officer.
While political fundraising has driven this change, Zoom anticipates that enterprises, entertainers, and the public sector will also benefit from these large-scale virtual events. For example, celebrities could host virtual meet-and-greets with fans using this expanded capacity.
However, hosting such large events comes at a premium. A one-time webinar for one million attendees costs $100,000, which is considered competitive since a 10,000-participant webinar costs $9,000.
Previously, Zoom officially supported webinars for up to 100,000 attendees, but according to Bloomberg, the company made adjustments to accommodate fundraising events. This shift began in July, when an organization, Win with Black Women, hosted a 40,000-participant Zoom call, raising $1.5 million for Harris’ campaign. Other events, such as White Dudes for Harris (190,000 attendees) and White Women for Harris (164,000 attendees), followed.
This move presents a significant revenue opportunity for Zoom, which has seen a sharp decline in its stock price after the global shift away from virtual meetings.
Source: Engadget
