Telegram channel stories and live streams: how to start
A Telegram channel can post stories only after it collects enough boosts for level 1. Until then, no one can post a story in it, the owner included. Subscribers with Telegram Premium give boosts, and the channel also gets them when it runs a giveaway. Live streams need no boosts: any channel can start one.
What a channel needs before its first story
Level 1 allows one story a day, and each next level adds one more, so level 10 allows ten. How many boosts a level takes depends on the channel's subscriber count, so another channel's number tells you little.
The level opens stories for the channel, but each admin who posts also needs the right to post stories. That right is set for each admin separately.
The level and the missing boosts are shown on the Boosts screen. Open the channel's profile and go to Channel Settings > Statistics and Boosts > Boosts. The same screen gives the channel's boost link.
Where your channel's boosts come from
Three ways to collect boosts for a channel:
| Source | Boosts | How long they stay |
|---|---|---|
| Subscribers with Premium, through the boost link | The boosts each of them holds; a purchased Premium subscription comes with 4 | Until the subscriber moves them or the subscriber's Premium ends |
| A Premium giveaway run by the channel | 4 per subscription in the giveaway | For the purchased duration of the subscriptions, counted from the start of the giveaway |
| A Stars giveaway run by the channel | 1 per 500 Stars in the prize | For one year |
Channel admins can run giveaways at their own expense, buying a number of Premium subscriptions to distribute among present or future subscribers. The boosts go to the channel, not to the people who win, and arrive immediately, without waiting for anyone to claim a prize.
Boosts from a giveaway can't be reassigned to another channel. If you manage several channels, run the giveaway for the one you want to boost.
Which admin rights stories and live streams need
The channel owner can appoint additional admins and define their roles with granular control. Stories and live streams have their own switches among those rights, apart from posting messages. Before the first story, check them for the admin who will publish.
| Right in the app | What it allows |
|---|---|
| Post stories | Post stories as the channel |
| Edit stories of others | Edit stories that other admins posted, add stories to the channel page and open the story archive |
| Delete stories of others | Delete stories that other admins posted |
| Manage live streams | Start and run the channel's live streams |
If you manage admins through a bot or your own tool, the same rights appear as can_post_stories, can_edit_stories, can_delete_stories and can_manage_video_chats.
Who sees a channel's stories
A channel's active stories are shown to its subscribers at the top of the chat list, together with their contacts' stories.
When a story expires, it moves to the channel's story archive. Only admins see the archive: the one who posted the story and those with the Edit stories of others right. To keep a story in view, an admin with that right adds it to the channel page, where anyone who opens the channel's profile can watch it.
Where to see how your stories performed
Channel statistics show Telegram story views as an average per story, and they are open to the channel's admins. Telegram opens statistics only to channels above a certain size, so a small channel may not have the section yet. The statistics are in the same Statistics and Boosts section as the Boosts screen.
The summary block for the selected period gives three averages for stories: views, shares and reactions. Each figure is compared with the previous period of the same length, so you can see whether stories are gaining or losing ground.
The recent interactions block lists your latest stories, with views and shares for each one. Use it to find which individual story pulled the average up or down. Each story also has its own statistics, with a graph of views and a graph of reactions by emoji.
How to run a live stream and keep the recording
A channel owner can host a Telegram channel live stream for an unlimited number of viewers. The owner, or an admin with the Manage live streams right, starts it with the Live Stream button on the channel's profile, and subscribers get a notification when it begins.
Viewers can raise a hand to join the broadcast, and they speak only if an admin allows it. So subscribers can ask their questions by voice during the stream.
To keep the stream for subscribers who missed it, record it. The owner or an admin with the Manage live streams right starts the recording from the stream's menu. They pick video and audio or audio only, and a video file can be portrait or landscape. While the recording runs, a red dot next to the stream's title shows participants that it is being recorded.
When the recording stops or the stream ends, the file arrives in the Saved Messages of whoever started the recording. From there it can be posted to the channel as an ordinary video or audio file.
Questions and answers
Can I see who viewed a channel's story?
No. Admins see how many people viewed the story and which of them reacted, plus the public chats and channels that forwarded or reposted it. The full list of viewers is not shown.
Can a story lead viewers to a post in the channel?
Yes. A channel post can be reposted to a story. Viewers see a copy of the post on top of the story, and a tap opens the post itself.
Can I schedule a live stream in advance?
Yes. Instead of going live at once, an admin can set a date and time for the stream. Subscribers get a notice saying when it starts, and each of them can set a reminder.
What to do first
- On the channel's Boosts screen, see how many boosts are missing for level 1.
- Send the boost link to subscribers who have Premium. If that is not enough, divide the boosts still missing by 4 and round up. This is the minimum number of subscriptions for a Premium giveaway, so pick a giveaway option with at least that many.
- In the channel's admin settings, open the admin who will publish and turn on the right to post stories. Editing and deleting stories are separate rights, so set them only if that admin needs them, for example to add stories to the channel page.
- If channel statistics are available to you, open them once the story has had time to collect views, and find it in the list of recent stories.
- Before a live stream, give Manage live streams to the admin who will host it, and start the recording as soon as the stream begins.
- After the stream, take the file from the Saved Messages of whoever started the recording and post it to the channel.
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