7 min read
Published on November 13, 2026
A webcast is a direct way to put your message in front of a large audience without booking a venue. If you've watched a company keynote, a product launch, or a town hall from your laptop, you've already seen one in action. So what is a webcast, exactly, and how does it differ from the webinars your team may already run? This guide walks through the definition, how webcasting works, the main types, and how to host your own. If you already present online, many of the habits behind hosting engaging and memorable webinars carry straight over.
Ready to host your first webcast?
A webcast is a live or recorded audio and video presentation streamed over the internet from one source to many viewers at once. Merriam-Webster defines it as "a transmission of sound and images (as of an event) via the Internet." Think of it as a broadcast, delivered over the web.
Webcasting is the process of producing and streaming that content. The presenter, or a small group of presenters, does most of the talking, and the audience mostly watches and listens.
Most webcasts share a few traits:
A webcast works by capturing audio and video, converting it into a format that can travel over the internet, and delivering it to viewers through a streaming platform. Here's the basic flow:
For a simple webcast, a laptop with a good webcam and a headset can cover the capture step. Larger productions might add multiple cameras, a dedicated producer, and branded graphics.
The main difference between a webcast and a webinar is interaction. A webcast is built mainly for one-way delivery to a large audience, while a webinar is built for presenters to engage attendees in real time through tools like Q&A, polls, and chat. A podcast, by comparison, is usually audio-first and listened to on demand.
| Webcast | Webinar | Podcast | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary goal | Broadcast a message to a wide audience | Teach, demo, or discuss with an engaged audience | Share episodic audio content |
| Audience interaction | Limited, often Q&A only | Built in: chat, Q&A, polls, reactions | Usually none during playback |
| Format | Video and audio | Video, audio, and screen sharing | Mostly audio |
| Timing | Live, on demand, or both | Usually live, with an on-demand replay | Mostly on demand |
| Common examples | All-hands, keynotes, launches | Product demos, training, lead-gen sessions | Interviews, series, commentary |
In practice, the line blurs. Many webinar platforms can run a broadcast-style webcast or a highly interactive session, depending on how you set it up. If you want your audience to participate, our guide on how to run a webinar covers ways to keep people engaged during the session.
A live webcast streams in real time. It's the right choice when timing matters, such as a product announcement, a company update, or a keynote people want to watch together. Live webcasts create urgency, and they let you take a few audience questions as they come in.
An on-demand webcast is a recording viewers can watch whenever it suits them. It extends the life of a live event and works well for training content, evergreen presentations, and audiences across many time zones.
You can also pre-record a session and run it as live at a scheduled time. Viewers get the shared experience of a live event, while presenters get the confidence of a polished, edited recording. Some teams pair the recording with a live Q&A at the end.
Webcasts can fit many situations where you need to reach a lot of people with the same message. Common uses include:
Find the plan that fits your audience
Your audience should be able to find your webcast, follow it, and come back to it later. Zoom Webinars & Events brings those pieces together in one place, with custom branding, production tools, and built-in analytics designed so you don't need a technical background to get started.
Here's how a webcast comes together with Zoom:
Set up registration and branding. Start with a registration page so you know who's coming, then add your branding so the session feels like yours. Registration and engagement reports help you see who signed up and who showed up.
Decide how interactive you want it to be. Keep things broadcast-style with a focused presentation, or open the room with real-time polls, Q&A, chat, and reactions. That flexibility lets you treat one session as a classic webcast and the next as an interactive webinar on the same platform.
Choose live or pre-recorded. Go live for announcements and keynotes. With eligible plans, you can also pre-record your session and run it as live, so the delivery is polished and your presenters can focus on answering questions.
Make the recording work after the event. Share the replay with registrants who couldn't attend, and use attendance and engagement data to plan the next session. Our post-event webinar strategy guide covers follow-up and replay tactics in more detail. With eligible paid plans, AI features can help you recap key points for your team. Availability may vary by region or industry.
Before you go live, decide who should be able to join and what they can do once they're in. For current information about Zoom’s data and security practices, visit the Zoom Trust Center.
A webcast is mainly a one-way broadcast to a large audience, while a webinar is designed for real-time interaction between presenters and attendees. Webinars typically include tools like Q&A, polls, and chat. Webcasts may offer limited interaction, such as submitted questions, but the focus stays on the presentation.
Webcasting means streaming audio and video content over the internet from one source to many viewers. If you're asking what is a webcast in the simplest terms, it's a broadcast delivered online. Webcasting can happen live or be recorded for on-demand viewing.
To view a webcast, open the link the host shares, usually in a registration confirmation or invitation email. Most webcasts play in a web browser or an app on your computer or phone. You'll need a stable internet connection and, for live events, to join at the scheduled time.
A webcast is usually a video, but not always. Collins English Dictionary describes a webcast as an event you can listen to or watch on the internet, so some webcasts are audio only. Most business webcasts combine video, audio, and shared slides or screens.
You can host a webcast with Zoom Webinars & Events by scheduling a webinar, setting up a registration page, and choosing how interactive you want the session to be. Zoom offers custom branding, production tools, and built-in analytics to help you run the event and learn from it afterward. Review the available plans on the Zoom Webinars & Events page before you start.
A webcast lets you share one message with a large audience, live or on demand. Once you know whether you need a one-way broadcast or a two-way conversation, choosing the right format gets easier. Zoom Webinars & Events gives you room to do both from the same platform.
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