FAQs
What is a Tickaroo Live Blog?
- In it's basic form, a liveblog is a newsfeed integrated into a website that allows its creators to share updates with readers in real-time.
- In today's news coverage, speed is of the essence (at least most of the time). Short, fast, and actionable content in real-time has become essential for daily news consumption. Today's readers have a low tolerance for lagging performance. For example, loading times over three seconds lead to high abandonment rates. This shows that the media landscape is in the midst of transformation and must adapt to the new circumstances with new tools and formats.
One format that adapts to these changes in consumer behaviour is the liveblog. With a liveblog, you write about important news and share it with your readers in real-time. Various media can be added to liveblogs such as text, images, links, videos, music, social media posts, polls, and quizzes to keep your readers not only informed but also entertained with interactive content. This content keeps readers on your website as long as possible. This is not only attractive for sponsors, but also for search engine ranking.
What is the difference between a liveblog and a liveticker?
- For several years, liveblogs have been the answer to the changing needs of new generations of information consumers. They experienced their rise mainly through sporting events, where they covered the goals, penalties and scores in what in many European regions were called livetickers. In recent years, however, they have also been used in modern, digital news reporting and called liveblogs.
For whom is a liveblog worthwhile?
- Do you feel like sharing information in real-time with your readers? Then the liveblog is the perfect tool for you! Liveblogs can be used in many ways and are not only suitable as live tickers for sporting events. Nowadays, liveblogs are also at home in the publishing and media world. Journalists and editors from a wide variety of fields record important events in liveblogs and achieve enormous popularity among users due to their constant topicality. Influencers and travel bloggers can also benefit from having their own travel liveblog. You can find more liveblog inspiration for various events and happenings on our Live Blog in Action page.
How do I get started?
- First you'll need to create a Tickaroo Account and Organization here. Once you have done so, you will land in your Organization's Live Blog Dashboard. Click on Create Liveblog to enter the editor interface.
- If you need more help preparing your first liveblog, we recommend our liveblog whitepaper "Live is Life: How Liveblogs Help You Tell Stories in Real-Time" In the whitepaper, you'll find practical checklists, liveblog examples from a variety of our clients, and exclusive tips and tricks for a successful liveblog.
How do I get started?
- First you'll need to create a Tickaroo Account and Organization here. Once you have done so, you will land in your Organization's Live Blog Dashboard. Click on Create Liveblog to enter the editor interface.
- If you need more help preparing your first liveblog, we recommend our liveblog whitepaper "Live is Life: How Liveblogs Help You Tell Stories in Real-Time". In the whitepaper, you'll find practical checklists, liveblog examples from a variety of our clients, and exclusive tips and tricks for a successful liveblog.
How long does it take to set up?
- Creating an Account and Organization takes less than a few minutes. From clicking +Create Liveblog to covering your story can take less than a minute. We also offer webinars and tutorial videos to help you get the most out of your live reporting potential. Check out the Trial and Tutorials Tab to access some of our tutorials.
How long does it take to integrate a liveblog into my website?
- Integration is quick, easy and mostly based on customizable EmbedJS widgets.
- Feel free to check out our developer documentation for more information.
Are there templates available for my liveblog?
- Tickaroo has templates for News as well as 20+ sports templates (incl. soccer, basketball, ice hockey, handball and more). Our templates help you quickly compose engaging commentary, and make uploading texts, pictures, videos, social media posts, surveys, and links a breeze. This way your audiences get to experience the event in real-time.
Where can I start my free Tickaroo Live Blog trial?
- Here! During the free 14-day trial period, you do not have to enter any payment details and are not required to sign up for a paid package afterwards. If you have any questions, please contact support@tickaroo.com.
What are some of Tickaroo Live Blog's features?
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Need a little help getting started with Tickaroo Live Blog's innovative editor? Watch this tutorial for step by step instructions:
Can I integrate Social Media Posts within the Tickaroo Live Blog Interface into my liveblog?
- Yes! With the optimized Social Search function, the editor makes it easy to integrate content from Twitter, YouTube, Soundcloud, dpa picture alliance, Getty Images and Gfycat. Your search terms can be filtered and saved, saving you time. Learn more in this tutorial:
What is a Liveblog Interview?
- With Tickaroo's Liveblog Interview chat you actively involve your audience in your liveblog and let them ask questions they are really interested in! In this video you will learn about situations where this format of liveblogs can heighten your story coverage:
How can I integrate a survey from Apester into my liveblog?
- With Apester, interactive polls, quizzes, countdowns, stories, video polls and image galleries can be created with just a few clicks and easily embedded into Tickaroo Live Blog. We'll show you how this works in this short video:
How can I see how many "views" my liveblog has?
- If you want to know how many times your liveblog has been viewed, click on the "bar chart" icon on the left side of your editor interface. A statistics overlay will open up where you can see all of your liveblog's views as well as other statistics like uniques, retention rates and more.
How are the views calculated?
- Every liveblog data retrieval is counted as a view, including automatic updates.
What data can be gleaned from the statistics?
- The Tickaroo Live Blog Dashboard gives you access to detailed statistics of your liveblogs. Here you can find monthly reports of your users, views and retention. Further down in the dashboard you get more detailed statistics of your entire liveblogs. This gives you a better overview of the publication date of your liveblogs, views, retention, as well as the source. By updating your statistics daily, you will learn more about your readers and their user behavior.
Where can I find real-time statistics?
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The Liveblogs tab (next to Dashboard) displays your previously published liveblogs. To see real-time statistics, click on a liveblog of your choice. This way you can see when your audience is most active. With this knowledge you can adapt your posts to your readers to get the maximum traffic from your posts. You can find more information in our blogpost.
Can I embed a liveblog directly into my website?
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Yes! To add a liveblog to your website, you just have to copy the embed ID of the liveblog you want to use and add it to your website code.
You can find this embed ID in the main menu under "Liveblogs" and then to the right of the liveblog you want to integrate. With a click on the "Link-Symbol" the ID will be copied automatically and saved in your clipboard. After the link has been successfully copied, a check mark will appear.
For a flawless integration, check out our EmbedJS documentation or ask us directly via support@tickaroo.com.
What is the Tickaroo Marketplace and how does it work?
- Can't be there live, but still want to cover an event? In the Tickaroo Marketplace, you can book liveblogs from reputable third-party providers, for example from press agencies like the German Press Agency and Austrian Press Agency and add additional posts to suit your needs.
- We currently only have German third party providers at this time. Should you be interested in providing your liveblogs for booking within our Marketplace, please contact us at support@tickaroo.com.
How does the Theme Generator work?
- You want to customize your liveblog to the needs of your readers and to the design of your website but don't have a technical background? With the Theme Generator, Tickaroo's newest feature, you can do that in just a few steps! In this tutorial you will learn which layouts are available and how you can create your own widget.
Is there an API or a developer program?
- Yes, there is an API available. Feel free to check out our developers documentation to get started. For more information, please contact us at support@tickaroo.com.
How can I earn money with my liveblog?
- Especially in the news sector, finding new sources of income are imperative. Liveblogs are not only a great interactive format for engaging with audiences, but also hold lucrative potential.
- With their high click rates and long retention rates, liveblogs offer a number of opportunities for monetization. To learn more read about these options in our blog post: Monetising Liveblogs: How This Format Puts Money in the Bank
Is adding ads directly into my liveblog a good idea?
- Yes! In the case of particularly long liveblogs, more display ads can be placed without overwhelming the reader compared to conventional articles. Due to the diverse format, video ads can also be placed within the liveblog to easily capture the attention of readers. However, be careful not to overload your liveblogs with ads and avoid ads on sensitive topics to keep the focus on the latest news.
What are other ways of earning ad revenue with a liveblog that doesn't include ads within the liveblog itself?
- For events, you can offer your liveblog together with an advertising partner or sponsor. Unobtrusive inserts such as "This blog is presented by..." do not disrupt the user experience, but guarantee high visibility for sponsors or cooperation partners due to their continuous presence. More information on monetization can be found in our blogpost Monetizing Liveblogs: How This Format Puts Money in the Bank.
What if I'm creating niche content that could be relevant for others? Can I sell my liveblog somewhere?
- Yes! In the Tickaroo Marketplace, you can offer your own liveblog to other publishers for a fee. This not only generates lucrative profits, but also acts as a multiplier and increases the visibility of the liveblog enormously.
You can find more information about the Marketplace in the tab "Liveblog Integration".
What is engagement and why is it important for my liveblog?
- Engagement is the active interaction with content. In relation to your liveblog, it describes the art of encouraging your audience not only to read your liveblog, but also to respond to questions, actively contribute their opinion, or participate in surveys or quizzes.
- Engagement is intended to create a positive experience for your readers with your liveblog, so that they will remember it fondly and be more inclined to return to your brand in the future. In addition, integrating interesting content can increase the retention time on your website, as your readers enjoy interacting with the content and thus voluntarily keep the tab open longer with your liveblog. These higher retention rates, increase the opportunity for more ad revenue.
- Tickaroo offers you many different ways to successfully increase your readers' engagement based on our years of experience and collaboration with various content partners.
How do I use Tickaroo's Live-Comment Function to increase reader engagement?
- Your readers appreciate it when you not only inform them about a topic in your liveblog, but also ask them directly for their opinion. With Tickaroo's comment function, you manage to actively involve your readers in discussions surrounding the news and get in touch with them in real-time. This way you not only increase the engagement of your readers, but also build trust in your liveblog. You can find more information and other advantages of the comment function in the "Live-Comment Function" tab.
What content and content-providers can I use to increase reader engagement in my liveblog?
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- All the third-party providers and content partners we list here or provide their content within an iframe can be used not only as inspiration, but also integrated directly into your Tickaroo Live Blog. Should one of your favorite content providers not be listed here, please contact us at support@tickaroo.com and we can see if we can take special steps to add them into our third-party content library.
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Apester
- With the Apester content platform, you can create custom polls, quizzes, countdowns, stories, video polls, and image galleries with just a few clicks.
- All the third-party providers and content partners we list here or provide their content within an iframe can be used not only as inspiration, but also integrated directly into your Tickaroo Live Blog. Should one of your favorite content providers not be listed here, please contact us at support@tickaroo.com and we can see if we can take special steps to add them into our third-party content library.
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- With Datawrapper you create individual graphs, tables and charts from survey results. Results from Opinary can be collected and graphically generated using Datawrapper and embedded in the liveblog.
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Getty Images and dpa Picture Alliance
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These two agencies represent the perfect way to incorporate high-quality images appropriate to an event or happening into your liveblog.Our bonus: Both agencies are already integrated with our Social Search, so you can pick the image files directly from the liveblog's writing mode.
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Gfycat
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With Gfycat you can not only create your own GIFs, but also integrate them into your liveblog.
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Open Graph Links
- Include Open Graph links in your liveblog by copying a link and posting it as an entry in the liveblog. The content will be included automatically.
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Opinary
- With Opinary you can create polls about current events and share their results in real time. Just copy the link and paste it into the link / embed code field of your liveblog.
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Social Media
- Adding social media posts is a great way to enhance the content of your liveblog with images, reels, tweets and TikTok videos. As social media is now used by many people and organizations, newspapers are also publishing online from the latest events. Their coverage acts as a reputable primary source and can make your liveblog more interesting.
- Our bonus: new content is generated every second. But how do you find what you're looking for? With our optimized social search and bookmarks feature, you can filter out and save the most important content for you.
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TikTok
- TikTok as a fast-growing platform has become indispensable in the social media landscape and especially among Generation Z. You can integrate the TikTok clips your liveblog and gain the attention of Gen Z. Want to learn more about the opportunities of liveblogs and Gen Z? Then click here to go to the guest post by our CEO Naomi Owusu
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Twitter
- Given Twitter's format (short content, retweets, and the need for timely responses), the social network is an interesting source for your liveblog. For example, if you're reporting on a political issue, you can integrate tweets from well-known politicians to support what you're saying or to gather opinions from others.
- Given Twitter's format (short content, retweets, and the need for timely responses), the social network is an interesting source for your liveblog. For example, if you're reporting on a political issue, you can integrate tweets from well-known politicians to support what you're saying or to gather opinions from others.
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Soundcloud and Spotify
- Add songs or even relevant podcasts to your liveblog to feed your readers with audio content.
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How can I add the Live-Comment Function to my organization?
- Contact our Head of Sales Oliver Schittenhelm directly (oliver@tickaroo.com) or via our support support@tickaroo.com.
How can I enable my users to add comments to my liveblog?
- After the comment function has been successfully activated for your organization, open the liveblog you want to edit as usual. On the left side, in the content area, you will find "Comments" under "+ GENERAL ELEMENTS". Clicking on this content block activates the Comment block for the desired post in the liveblog.
Which comment modes are available?
- You can choose between four different comment modes:
- Publish directly: Comments will be published directly without review (spam excluded).
- Review comments: Comments have to be reviewed editorially.
- Read-only: The message can no longer be commented on. However, existing comments remain visible.
- Disable comments: The comment function will be hidden.
How does my audience create comments?
- Your readers can post comments anonymously without needing their own account. They just need to choose a username and can share comments depending on the comment mode you have chosen.
- You can also choose to connect the comment function to an existing account system on the target site. You can find out how this works technically in this document.
- How readers are displayed/can comment can be controlled by the owner of the organization in the settings section of Tickaroo Live Blog.
How do I manage the comments of my liveblog?
- You can manage individual comments as well as users. To manage comments, select the "Comments" icon to the left of the content area of your liveblog. A new window will open. Here you have the possibility to view and edit all comments of the liveblog.
What actions are available in the Live-Comment "Inbox" tab?
- All new comments appear in the inbox. These can be manually marked as "reviewed", published, or deleted. Via "More actions" you also have the option to
- reply to the comment,
- edit it,
- add a label,
- highlight the comment
- or block the user.
Where can I view what message my readers are responding to?
- The "View Message" window in the inbox to the left of the comment displays an enlarged view of the post related to the comment.
How can I ensure that my liveblog is not flooded with spam messages?
- Messages that appear in the "Spam" tab have been classified as spam. For these comments, the IP address from which the comment was posted is compared to known spam sources, and the content of the comment is searched for known spam words. It is up to you whether you still want to publish the comment or prefer to delete it.
What actions are available in the Live-Comment "All" tab?
In the "All" tab, all comments posted within the liveblog are listed. By clicking on the arrows "Enlarge/reduce message" the comment will be displayed enlarged or reduced. Also here you have the possibility to delete comments or manage them via "More actions".
What actions are available in the Live-Comment "Trash" tab?
- Comments that have been deleted are located in the "Trash" tab. By clicking on "Restore", the comment will reappear in the liveblog.
What actions are available in the Live-Comment "Blocked?" tab?
- Users can be manually blocked for 24 hours using the "Other functions" field. They will then appear in the "Blocked" tab. Blocked users can be unblocked afterwards.
How can I divide comments into categories?
- Labels are created to divide comments into categories. As an example, comments with a specific label can be collected for quicker citation later in a liveblog. Questions could also be asked in the form of a comment to a panel of experts and assigned to people using the labels.
How can I remove categories?
- Labels can be easily removed. Click on the existing label above a comment. All labels that have been created so far will appear. Click on the label in blue to remove it.
Can I connect the comment function with an already existing account system on the target page?
- Yes, this is possible. You can find out how this works technically in this documentation.
Is there a tutorial for the comment function?
- We are currently working on a tutorial for this feature. As soon as it is finished it will be uploaded to our Youtube Channel and posted here.
What packages can I choose from?
- You can choose from one of our four packages:
- Live Blog on demand for one-time events (69 €/ per Liveblog*)
- Advanced for efficient and regular liveblogging (349 €/ month*)
- Professional for professional and digital storytelling (899 €/ month*)
- Enterprise for multi-publishers and media groups (by request*)
*More information about the individual packages can be found here. Prices may vary.
- Can't find a package that suits your needs? Contact our Head of Sales Oliver Schittenhelm (oliver@tickaroo.com) to discuss your options.
Can I change my subscription?
- You can upgrade or change your subscription at any time, just contact us with the relevant information. All changes will be activated after the current subscription expires.
Can I cancel my subscription?
- Of course you can cancel your subscription. However, please note that the subscription will only be cancelled after the respective billing period. For example, if the subscription was booked for one year, it can only be cancelled at the end of that year.
Can I import older liveblogs from my ScribbleLive or Sourcefabric account?
- We've made switching your liveblog software even easier! If you were a ScribbleLive or Sourcefabric user before, we have developed an import program for you that transfers your old liveblogs into our system. This way you can keep all your liveblogs in one place - in your Tickaroo account!
Is there a mobile Tickaroo Live Blog app?
- Yes! No matter which of our packages you choose (On Demand, Advanced, Professional, Enterprise), feel free to use our Tickaroo Live Blog App at no additional cost. Our app is available for Android and iOS and turns even the most remote news location into a mobile office.
What happens after the 14-day trial period?
- Before your trial ends, you'll be notified to let you know that your free trial account is about to expire. At this point you can decide if you want to book one of our packages to continue using our software. If you cannot decide on any of the packages, please feel free to contact us at support@tickaroo.com and we will help you find a solution that best works for you.
When will I receive the first invoice?
- For our Premium packages (Advanced, Professional, Enterprise) the first invoice is due at the beginning of your subscription. If you decide to pay annually in advance, you will not only save money, but you will also not have to worry about the monthly booking of your package.
When will I receive the invoices for the On Demand subscription?
- If you choose our flexible On Demand model, you will only have to pay 69 € per published liveblog as long as the liveblog's duration does not go beyond 4 weeks. If you want to extend the duration of a liveblog, you can easily do so by paying 69 € for each additional month. You will receive your invoice at the end of each quarter for all liveblogs published during this period.
How can I deactivate my account?
- If you wish to deactivate your account, please contact Tickaroo Support (support@tickaroo.com). Please use the Tickaroo email address you are registered with. More information about our privacy policy can be found here.
Can I integrate Social Media Posts into my liveblog within the Tickaroo Live Blog Interface?
- Yes! With the optimized Social Search function, the editor makes it easy to integrate content from Twitter, YouTube, Soundcloud, dpa picture alliance, Getty Images and Gfycat. Your search terms can be filtered and saved, saving you time.
Can multiple people work on one liveblog?
- It is possible for several people to post entries to the same liveblog at the same time. To do this, the admin of the organization must send an invitation to the desired reporters. This option can be found within the organization under Settings and Users. The invitation link, which is sent via mail, must be confirmed by the reporter. The reporter will then be asked to register or log in to his or her existing account.
How can I edit already existing entries?
- Select the pen and note icon next to the desired entry. Now you can edit your entry, add other content, adjust or delete it. Then click on "Save message" to display the edited version in the liveblog.
What formatting options are available for entries?
- You can insert texts and edit them easily with our WYSIWYG editor. The texts or only text parts can be displayed as bold, italic, strikethrough, underlined and linked. Headings or important text passages can also be enlarged by selecting the desired text and choosing "H". Texts can also be displayed as lists with bullets or with numbering.
How can I highlight quotes?
- You have two ways to highlight quotes.
- You can add quotes by selecting quote marks within the WYSIWYG editor. To end a quote, just press "Enter" twice and you can continue writing.
- You can also put quotes in the foreground with our quote content block. After you have selected the quote content block beneath "+General Elements", you can write in your desired quote and add an author and its source. This way your readers can click on the source if they want to learn more about the topic.
How can I delete posts?
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Select the three dots in the Liveblog Timeline to the right of each post and then click "Delete Message". After the post is deleted, you still have 60 seconds to undo the deletion.
How can I change the order of the blocks?
- You can change the order of different blocks by dragging and dropping. To do this, select the crossed arrows next to the trash icon and you can drag the blocks up and down.
How can I schedule posts?
- For each post, you can select the time and date you want to publish it. To do this, select the clock icon next to the desired post. The finished post will then be saved as invisible until the desired time of publication.
How can I hide posts?
- To do this, click on the pen and note icon to edit the post. Then select the eye icon at the top and "Do not publish" to make a post invisible. After you save the post, it will be saved and grayed out in the liveblog timeline.
How can I publish a hidden post?
- Click again on the eye icon to the right of the post to publish the hidden post directly.
Where can I find the total number of my hidden posts?
- Above the timeline of the liveblog there is a filter icon that shows you how many posts have already been published and if there are still unpublished posts in the liveblog. You can click "Hidden" here to see all invisible posts.
How can I highlight important posts?
- You can highlight the relevance of a specific post in three different ways:
- 1. Highlight
2. Pin
3. Pin & Highlight
Highlighting
- 1. Highlight
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Highlight
- To do so, select the "Highlight" star icon. A colored marker will appear next to the desired post. (The color and type of highlighting can be set in advance using the Theme Generator). To remove the marker, select the star icon again and then "Do not highlight".
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Pinning
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Select the pin icon "Pin". By marking this, the selected post will always appear at the top of the liveblog, no matter if new posts are added. To remove it, select the star icon again and then "Do not highlight".
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Highlighting and Pinning
- With "Pin & Highlight", the selected post will always appear at the top of the liveblog and will also be differentiated from the other posts by color.
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How can I add chapters?
- Select the plus sign between the desired posts and add a heading. This will cause a headline with an anchor link to the post to appear above the liveblog. Clicking on this headline will automatically jump you to the highlighted post. The link can be removed by deleting it with the trash icon to the right of the post with the headline.
How can I publish photos and videos in my liveblog?
- You can add photos or videos from your computer by selecting "Media" below "+ General Items" or simply by using "Drag & Drop".
Where can I add descriptions and image links?
- Titles and image links can be added under each item. After you upload a photo or video, "Add caption" and "Add image link" will appear under each element. Click on it once and you can customize the description and the link of the image or video.
How do I add web links?
- If you want to add URLs of articles, social media posts or websites, select "Link / Embed" and paste the web link. You don't need to delete the weblink, as only the preview of the linked content will be displayed. However, if you add the web link in the rich text field, it will also show the preview, but also the web link (which you should always delete before publishing to make the post look cleaner).
How can I make my liveblog more interesting?
- Adding photos, GIFs, videos, social media posts, polls and quizzes will make your liveblog even more interesting for your readers. Social media content, in particular, is a quick and easy way to make your liveblog more descriptive. For more information and content inspiration, check out the Engagement tab.
- Starting in mid-March 2023, the new Tickaroo Live Blog app will be available in the iOS and Android stores. In order to access this new app, only an update of the current Tickaroo Live Blog App is necessary, should the user already have the app.
- The new app has the same intuitive user interface as Tickaroo's web app and has the same features.
What is new compared to the old app?
- The new Tickaroo Live Blog App now has the same look and intuitive user interface as the Tickaroo Web App.
The functionalities and liveblog features of the new app are also the same as those of the Tickaroo Web App. In the new app, warnings that are present in the current app (ex. "Created with Editor 2.0") no longer occur. The new app is fully compatible with the Tickaroo Web App. This means that you can create and edit the same liveblog on the scene and in the newsroom.
What's changing for me?
- Apart from the new design and the familiar user interface from the Tickaroo Web App, nothing changes for you.
How do I get the new app?
- The new Tickaroo Live Blog app will be available beginning in mid-March 2023. You just need to update the app on your smartphone (iOS and Android).
Will my log-in work?
- The log-in and your access data remain unchanged. After the app update, you will have to log in again once with your credentials.
Does my SSO Log In work?
- The SSO log-in also remains unchanged and available in the new Tickaroo Liveblog app.