Major Streaming Platforms Experience Viewer Metric Decline in Q3
In Q3, major streaming platforms saw a decline in viewer metrics after a period of consistent growth. According to the latest report from Streamlabs and Stream Hatchet, Facebook Gaming was the only major competitor that experienced a consistent increase in hours watched from July to September.
Facebook Gaming Overtakes YouTube Gaming in Hours Watched
Thanks to its growth, Facebook Gaming surpassed YouTube Gaming in hours watched for Q3, reaching 1.29 billion hours compared to YouTube’s 1.13 billion.
Twitch Continues to Dominate the Market
Despite the competition, Twitch maintained its dominant position in the market. In Q3, Twitch accounted for 70.5% of all content watched in the livestreaming space, with a total of 5.79 billion hours watched. Additionally, Twitch streamed a significantly higher number of hours compared to Facebook and YouTube.
Twitch Sees Decrease in Hours Watched but Overall Growth
Although Twitch saw an 11% decrease in hours watched from Q2, the platform still experienced a 22% increase compared to Q3 of the previous year. However, Twitch did see a slight drop in the number of unique channels streaming on the platform, indicating that some streamers are exploring other platforms.
Top Categories and Esports Events in Q3
In Q3, the most-watched category on Twitch was “Just Chatting” with 707.5 million hours watched. “Grand Theft Auto V” and “League of Legends” also garnered significant viewership. Among esports events, “VALORANT Masters” topped the list with 31.7 million hours watched, followed by the ESL Pro League XIV and the LCK.
Riot Games emerged as the dominant publisher in Q3, with 772.3 million hours watched. For a detailed breakdown of the Q3 streaming industry, you can refer to the official Streamlabs blog.