Go live with a break

Going live happens on one screen in the studio: Start Break. It has three tabs, a live overlay preview alongside them, and a Start break button pinned in the corner. Fill the tabs in any order, watch the preview react, and hit Start break when you’re ready. The studio then switches to the on-air console.

All the building happens ahead of time in your break template (the overlay design and your effects deck), so this screen is deliberately short. If you have not made a template yet, the studio will tell you: you need at least one saved template to go live. Build one first with Break templates.

Your entries here are kept as you type, so a page refresh mid-setup loses nothing.

Template

Pick the saved break template to run this break from. It brings in your overlay and your controls together, so choosing the right one is most of your setup. Want a different look tonight? Adjust the template (or duplicate and tweak it) in Break Templates, then come back and pick it. There’s a New template row here too, which opens the blank editor.

Break Config

Tell Breakcastr what you’re breaking. This is what your spot board fills from.

Product type. Sports or a trading card game. This decides which products you can pick.
League / Trading card game. What you’re ripping: a sports league (NBA, NFL, MLB, and more) or a trading card game (Pokémon, Magic, and more). For the soccer leagues you also pick the season, since squads change year to year.

Spot Config

Set the spots you’re selling and, if you want, what shows by name on your Fill Tracker.

For a sports league, choose how to sell your spots:

The league’s teams. One spot per team, filled from the roster with the count locked for you. This is the classic team break, and your Fill Tracker shows the teams.
A custom list. Your own spots instead of the roster (see below).

For a trading card game, or a custom list, set your Total spots, then optionally name specific spots:

Total spots is how many you’re selling, full stop.
Named spots are optional. Type or paste names, one per line or separated by commas. Name as many or as few as you like: name your chase slots, giveaway spots, or buyers’ names, and everything you leave unnamed simply sells as a numbered spot. You don’t have to name all of them.

Named spots are what show on your Fill Tracker; the summary bar at the bottom of the card always tells you what the tracker will display. For the full picture, see How spots are filled.

The live preview

The overlay preview rides along in the right column on every tab, rendered from your chosen template so you see the real thing react as you configure. Two things it flags for you:

If a scores widget has no live game today, the preview warns you up front, so an empty scoreboard on stream never surprises you.
Score widgets show sample data in the preview. Real scores appear once you’re live.

To rehearse your effects and sounds before an audience sees them, use the rehearsal area in Break Templates while you design.

Start break

When you’re ready, hit Start break. It lights up once you’ve picked a template and your details are complete. You go live, the overlay lights up on stream with the look you built, and the studio becomes your on-air console.

If no OBS overlay is connected when you hit start, the studio warns you and hands you the Overlay URL to paste into OBS. You can still start the break and wire OBS after; the overlay picks the break up as soon as it connects. See OBS setup.

Going live requires a confirmed email and an active plan. Every new account starts with a 7-day free trial so you can broadcast real breaks; after that you subscribe to keep going on air. See Pricing and plans and Account and billing.

Learn the live controls, and how a break ends: Run the live show.