Last updated: 2026-01-12

For most creators and teams in the U.S., the fastest way to get a scrolling ticker on screen is to use the built‑in Banners/Ticker feature inside StreamYard’s browser‑based studio. If you need automated data feeds, HTML/CSS widgets, or 3D broadcast graphics, you can layer external ticker tools on top of your live production instead.

Summary

• A scrolling ticker tool lets you run moving text across your live video for promos, headlines, or CTAs.
• In StreamYard, you create tickers directly in the studio via the Banners tab—no extra software or hardware needed. (StreamYard Help Center)
• Browser‑source widgets (like donation tickers) and enterprise systems add automation and data feeds when your show grows.
• For most shows, keeping your ticker inside the same tool you already use to stream minimizes subscriptions, setup time, and tech risk.

What is a scrolling ticker tool and why use one?

A scrolling ticker tool lets you display a horizontal strip of moving text—usually along the bottom of your video—while you’re live.

You’ve seen this on TV: breaking news headlines, stock prices, sports scores. Online, creators use tickers for:

• Calls to action ("Subscribe on YouTube", "Download the guide at…")
• Promotions (launch windows, discounts, limited‑time offers)
• Agenda and segment titles
• Guest names and social handles
• Disclaimers and important notices

The real value is clarity and repetition. Viewers can drop into your stream 15 minutes late and still see what’s happening, without you constantly repeating yourself.

For most U.S.-based creators, small businesses, churches, and nonprofits, a simple, reliable ticker is enough. The key decision is where that ticker lives: inside your main studio (StreamYard), in a separate widget, or in a full broadcast system.

How do scrolling tickers work in StreamYard?

In StreamYard, tickers are part of the Banners system, so you don’t need any plugins, HTML, or graphics software. You just type and go. (StreamYard Help Center)

Here’s the basic workflow:

1. Open your StreamYard studio in the browser and join as the host. (streamyard.com)
2. In the right sidebar, click the Banners tab.
3. Click Create a banner and type your message.
4. Check “Scroll across bottom (ticker)”.
5. Click Add banner, then click it again to show it on screen.

A few useful details:

• Banners vs. tickers: A standard banner is a static lower‑third. A ticker is the same text, but scrolling.
• Character limits: Banners are limited to 200 characters; tickers can go up to 1,000 characters. (StreamYard Help Center)
• Branding control: The look of your banners and tickers follows your Brand color and Theme in the Style tab, so you keep a consistent visual identity without re‑designing each line of text. (StreamYard Help Center)
• Automation: You can set automatic display timers (10, 20, 60 seconds) for banners, which makes it easy to rotate through several messages while you focus on hosting. (StreamYard Help Center)

There is one simple trade‑off to know about: StreamYard banners don’t support manual line breaks, so each banner or ticker is a single line by design. (StreamYard Help Center) For most use cases—short prompts, headlines, and CTAs—that constraint keeps your overlays legible and clean.

For typical creators, this integrated approach is the sweet spot: you get on‑brand, animated text without managing extra tools.

When is StreamYard’s built‑in ticker the right choice?

If any of these sound like you, the native StreamYard ticker should probably be your default:

• You want fewer subscriptions and logins. You’re already using StreamYard to go live; using the built‑in ticker means one studio, one bill, one support team.
• You value speed over infinite customization. You’d rather ship a live show every week than fine‑tune CSS for a month.
• You host interviews, webinars, or church services. You mostly need names, CTAs, and announcements—not a full data‑driven newsroom crawl.
• You work with non‑technical hosts. Anyone on your team can trigger a ticker without touching code, scenes, or external browser sources.

A simple example: A local real‑estate team runs a weekly Q&A livestream. They use one ticker to promote their free home‑buyer checklist, another to show their phone number, and a third for "Now answering: Your Live Questions." Everything lives in one reusable studio alongside their branded overlays and multistream destinations. (streamyard.com)

In practice, consolidating streaming, branding, and tickers into StreamYard often saves more time and cognitive load than stitching together multiple tools—especially for volunteer teams or solo creators.

What if I need more advanced ticker customization?

Some use cases genuinely outgrow a simple in‑studio ticker. For example:

• You want donation or tip amounts to update automatically.
• You need HTML/CSS control to match a very specific brand system.
• You’re already producing in OBS or another switcher and want everything as browser‑source overlays.

In those situations, a browser‑source widget can sit on top of your StreamYard feed (via RTMP) or inside other production software.

One common pattern is a donation ticker. Tools like the Streamlabs Tip Ticker widget can display recent tippers as a scrolling ticker and let you adjust the font, colors, message format, scrolling speed, and more, including HTML/CSS customization. (Streamlabs)

The trade‑offs:

• You gain more visual control and automation.
• You add complexity: new accounts, browser‑source setup, and more points of failure.

For many creators, it’s worth asking: Do I need a fully custom, data‑driven ticker, or do I just need my key messages visible? If it’s the latter, staying inside StreamYard usually keeps your system more stable.

How do browser‑source ticker widgets fit into my workflow?

If you’re already comfortable with OBS or similar software, you can combine StreamYard and browser‑source tickers like this:

1. Use StreamYard as your remote studio—guests join via link, you use layouts, comments, and local recordings. (streamyard.com)
2. Send your StreamYard output to OBS or another encoder (for example, via RTMP ingest or virtual camera).
3. In OBS, add a Browser Source pointing to your ticker widget URL (such as a donation ticker or custom HTML/CSS overlay). (Streamlabs)
4. Stream out to your destinations from OBS, or return the composed video back into StreamYard.

This hybrid approach is flexible but adds moving parts. Unless you have a clear need—like complex eSports overlays or multiple data feeds—keeping production in one browser tab is often more reliable for weekly content.

When do you need a full broadcast‑grade ticker system?

At the far end of the spectrum are enterprise products designed for TV newsrooms and major broadcasters.

Solutions like Vizrt’s Viz Ticker provide a complete system for automated 2D/3D ticker graphics driven by data feeds, with editorial control, scheduling, and integration into professional video pipelines. (Vizrt)

These tools make sense when:

• You’re running 24/7 channels with multiple concurrent tickers.
• You need complex animations and layers tied to real‑time data.
• You have engineering and production staff to manage servers, templates, and feeds.

For most online creators and small organizations, this is overkill. The cost, infrastructure, and staffing expectations are very different from a browser‑based studio. In those cases, StreamYard’s built‑in ticker plus occasional browser‑source overlays usually deliver the on‑screen impact you need without turning your show into an IT project.

What we recommend

• Start with StreamYard’s built‑in Banners/Ticker for nearly all creator, business, and faith‑based streams—you’ll get a clean, branded scrolling ticker in minutes with no extra tools. (StreamYard Help Center)
• Layer in browser‑source widgets only when you have a clear, ongoing need for automated data (donations, stats) or deep visual customization.
• Consider broadcast‑grade systems only if you’re building a true channel or newsroom with dedicated production staff.
• Optimize for simplicity and reliability first—a clear, readable ticker that always works will serve your audience better than a complex system that occasionally breaks five minutes before you go live.