Bad news — up to a million people can now join a Zoom call, so don't get stage fright

Your next big business Zoom call could be a truly blockbuster occasion after the company announced a major upgrade in capacity for calls.

The video conferencing platform will now be able to support up to a million attendees on a single-use webinar as Zoom calls continue to be a popular medium for organizations to reach a bigger audience.

The company says the expansion will help “transform how large-scale communications are conducted”, letting hosts and audiences across the world interact seamlessly – provided their internet connection is good enough, of course.

More Zoom for your buck

Woman presenting a Zoom call

(Image credit: Zoom)

The news forms part of a selection of new webinar options from Zoom in addition to its monthly and annual webinar subscription options.

Going forward, customers will be able to select webinars for 10,000, 50,000, 100,000, 250,000, or the top-tier one million attendee capacities. Zoom says its webinars can host sessions up to 30 hours long, and feature up to a thousand interactive video panelists, bringing a full conference experience to attendees.

Customers will receive support from Zoom’s Event Services team to make sure the event goes off without a hitch, and will be able to access a host of analytics and performance reports on their audience to help improve future events.

The company says the new webinar experience can help not just big businesses, who will now be able to host calls with their entire workforce, but could also help public sector organizations looking to communicate with large, diverse populations, or even entertainment businesses or celebrities looking to reach as many of their fans as possible.

“Zoom’s expanded capacity webinar offering is revolutionizing the way organizations can seamlessly connect and engage with massive audiences,” said Smita Hashim, Chief Product Officer at Zoom.

“Now event organizers have the flexibility and power to host truly interactive experiences on an unprecedented scale and the ability to purchase large single-use webinars.”

The announcement follows the news that US Presidential candidate Kamala Harris recently broke the record for the highest attendance of any Zoom call, with a reported 200,000 attendees present.