Cite a live stream by noting its title, the name of the platform on which it appears, the name of the account that is streaming, the date, and the URL. To specify that you are citing a live stream, add “Live stream” at the end of the entry as a supplemental element.
On mobile apps, the URL can usually be retrieved by clicking a button labeled “Share” or an icon indicating the option to share, which generates a URL you can copy. If you are accessing a live stream on a web browser, use the URL found at the top of the browser window. These two URLs might look slightly different, but they will lead to the same video, so just include whichever version you find easier to access.
How you structure the works-cited-list entry depends on who is primarily responsible for the content of the live stream you are citing. If the account that is streaming is not responsible for the content of the stream, such as in the case of a gaming tournament or sporting event, generally begin the entry with the title of the event listed on the streaming platform in the Title element of the entry. If you are citing a stream that is primarily the creation of a single individual or account, generally begin the entry with the name of the account in the Author element.
The following examples use YouTube and TikTok, but the principles behind them apply to any streaming platform.
Live Stream of an Event
Begin this kind of entry with the title of the event and end the entry with “Live stream”:
Viewed on a mobile app:
“Tata Steel Wijk Aan Zee 2025 | Nodirbek vs. World Champ Gukesh and More in Rd 6.” YouTube, streamed by chess24, 24 Jan. 2025, www.youtube.com/live/uSunIEIMfJA?si=qzv66XrXUnE4AIWl. Live stream.
Viewed on a web browser:
“Tata Steel Wijk Aan Zee 2025 | Nodirbek vs. World Champ Gukesh and More in Rd 6.” YouTube, streamed by chess24, 24 Jan. 2025, www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSunIEIMfJA. Live stream.
In this case the event, a chess tournament, was not created primarily by the account that is streaming, chess24, and so the entry begins not with the account name but with the title.
If, however, you want to single out one contributor to the stream in your discussion, you can begin the entry with that person’s name and a description of their contribution. The following example shows how to cite a commentator on chess24’s live stream:
Sachdev, Tania, commentator. “Tata Steel Wijk Aan Zee 2025 | Nodirbek vs. World Champ Gukesh and More in Rd 6.” YouTube, streamed by chess24, 24 Jan. 2025, www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSunIEIMfJA. Live stream.
The main difference between citing a live stream and a regular YouTube video is how you describe the action of the account that is streaming. Instead of writing “uploaded by chess24,” you would write “streamed by chess24.” (Also, the URL of the live stream still takes you to the completed video even after the stream has ended, so it’s a useful and necessary item to include in the entry.)
If you are citing the complete video of the live event once it has ended, cite it as you would any other YouTube video. Note that the name of the account should here be preceded with “uploaded by” and that “Live stream” is omitted at the end:
“Tata Steel Wijk Aan Zee 2025 | Nodirbek vs. World Champ Gukesh and More in Rd 6.” YouTube, uploaded by chess24, 24 Jan. 2025, www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSunIEIMfJA.
Live Stream Attributed Primarily to an Individual Account
If an individual account is primarily responsible for the content of the stream, begin the entry with the name of the account. End this kind of entry with “Live stream” as well:
GoodVibes [@nyc_goodvibes]. “Manhattan Sunset in NYC.” TikTok, 19 Nov. 2024, tiktok.com/@nyc_goodvibes/live. Live stream.
Again, the format of the URL that you find for the stream might differ from the format of the URL in the example above, but it’s OK to use whatever form of the URL the platform generates for the stream.