Permanent YouTube Live Stream URL?

If you run regular YouTube Live streams, stop embedding individual videos. They change every week and force pointless site updates.
Embed your YouTube channel instead. The embed code never changes and always shows the current live stream or the next scheduled one.
One embed. Zero weekly maintenance.

Can I Get a Permanent URL for All My YouTube Live Streams?

No.

YouTube does not give you a single, permanent URL that represents “whatever I’m live streaming right now”. Every live stream is a new video, with a new ID and a new URL.

That sounds like a problem — until you realise it doesn’t matter.

Your website does not need a permanent video URL. It needs a permanent embed strategy.

Once you stop thinking in terms of individual streams and start embedding the channel, the lack of a permanent live-stream URL becomes irrelevant.

Follow the approach below and you never need to care what the current live stream URL is ever again.

The Mistake: Embedding the Live Stream Video

Embedding a live stream video ties your website to a single broadcast. That’s fine if you stream once a year. It’s madness if you stream every week.

Each scheduled live stream has its own video ID, its own URL, and its own embed code. That guarantees manual updates, brittle pages, and eventually a homepage proudly advertising last week’s show.

If your live stream is a recurring event, embedding individual videos is a self-inflicted wound.

The Correct Solution: Embed the Channel, Not the Stream

YouTube supports embedding an entire channel. When that channel is live, YouTube automatically shows the live stream player. When it isn’t, YouTube handles the context for you.

From your website’s point of view, nothing ever changes.

One embed. Forever.

The Embed Code You Actually Want

Replace YOUR_CHANNEL_ID with your actual YouTube channel ID. This code never changes.

<iframe
  width="560"
  height="315"
  src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/live_stream?channel=YOUR_CHANNEL_ID"
  frameborder="0"
  allow="autoplay; encrypted-media"
  allowfullscreen>
</iframe>

What Your Website Will Show

• When you are live, it shows the live stream player
• Before you go live, it shows advance notice of the next scheduled stream
• After the stream ends, it resets itself ready for next time

No copy-paste rituals. No forgotten updates. No maintenance treadmill.

The One YouTube Quirk You Must Know About

There is exactly one catch, and YouTube does a poor job of documenting it.

You can only have one public scheduled live stream on a channel at any given time.

If you make multiple future live streams public, the channel embed breaks. Sometimes it shows nothing. Sometimes it behaves inconsistently. Either way, it’s not reliable.

This is not a configuration error on your site. It’s just how YouTube behaves.

The Simple Workaround

Keep only the next upcoming live stream set to Public. Set all future scheduled streams to Unlisted.

When the current stream finishes, make the next one public.

That’s it. Five seconds of housekeeping in exchange for never touching your website again.

The Black Screen Problem (And Why It Happens)

There is one more edge case you need to handle properly.

If you have no live stream and no public scheduled live stream, YouTube returns nothing at all. Just a black rectangle where the player should be.

Poster First, Player on Click (The Right Way to Handle It)

The solution is simple: don’t show the YouTube iframe by default.

Instead, show a poster image and only load the player when the user actually wants to watch. (In some countries with strict GDPR regulations such as Germany this may even be required)

This avoids the black screen entirely and gives you full control over the presentation.

Example Markup

The embed code itself still never changes. You’re simply deferring when it loads.
Replace YOUR_CHANNEL_ID with your actual YouTube channel ID. This code never changes.

<div id="livestream-wrapper" style="position:relative; cursor:pointer;">
  <img
    src="/images/livestream-poster.jpg"
    alt="Weekly Live Stream"
    style="width:100%;">

  <div
    style="
      position:absolute;
      inset:0;
      display:flex;
      align-items:center;
      justify-content:center;
      color:#fff;
      font-size:2rem;
      background:rgba(0,0,0,0.4);
    ">
    ▶ Watch live
  </div>
</div>

<script>
document
  .getElementById('livestream-wrapper')
  .addEventListener('click', function () {
    this.innerHTML = `
      <iframe
        width="560"
        height="315"
        src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/live_stream?channel=YOUR_CHANNEL_ID"
        frameborder="0"
        allow="autoplay; encrypted-media"
        allowfullscreen>
      </iframe>
    `;
  });
</script>

Why This Matters

Websites should be stable. Live streams are ephemeral.

If your site architecture depends on changing URLs every week, the architecture is wrong.

Embedding the channel reduces maintenance, prevents stale content, avoids human error, and scales forever. Just as importantly, it avoids broken UI states when YouTube has nothing to show.

Final Thought

If you’re re-embedding YouTube Live streams every week, you’re not being careful. You’re just making unnecessary work for yourself.

Embed the channel once.
Handle the edge cases properly.
And stop touching code that doesn’t need to change.