Twitch’s Top Channels Account for Majority of Viewership, Data Shows
Twitch, the largest streaming platform in the market, had 11.92 million unique channels in 2019. However, a closer look reveals that only a small fraction of these channels make up the majority of viewership. In fact, the top 1,000 channels accounted for 50.3% to 53% of the platform’s total hours watched, according to data from Twitch statistics website SullyGnome and video game analytics company Stream Hatchet.
The Power of Twitch’s Top Channels
Out of the top one percent of the most-watched channels on Twitch, only the top one percent of them managed to accumulate over 50% of the total hours watched. The top 500 channels alone accounted for 43% of total viewership, while the top 100 accounted for nearly 23% with 2.5 billion hours watched.
The Influence of Popular Channels
Popular channels such as Riot Games, the Overwatch League, Tfue, Summit1g, and ESL’s CS:GO channel, among others, generated a combined 713 million hours watched in 2019, making up more than 6% of Twitch’s total viewership.
Airtime Plays a Role
One of the major contributing factors to the dominance of top channels is airtime. The top 100 channels accounted for a large portion of viewership, but they also streamed for an average of 2,605 hours in 2019. Even the top 1,000 channels streamed for an average of 2,124 hours, suggesting that the amount of airtime plays a significant role in viewership distribution.
Clearly, not every streamer has the capacity to stream as much as the top channels do, which contributes to the top-heaviness of Twitch’s viewership. It’s a catch-22 situation where streamers need the capacity and revenue to stream many hours, but they also need popularity on the platform to generate income.
Is There Room for Streamers in the Middle Tier?
The impact of top influencers on Twitch is undeniable, as seen with the recent shifts in streaming platforms. With the likes of shroud and Ninja leaving Twitch for exclusive streaming partnerships with Mixer, the landscape for content creators has changed. Now, all top influencers have the opportunity to negotiate with various platforms for the best streaming rights deals.
While Twitch was once seen as the only platform for success, other outlets now present viable alternatives. This has caused a slight shift in viewership on Twitch, with the top 10 channels experiencing a decline in hours watched after the departure of influencers like Ninja and shroud. However, the top 1,000 channels as a whole saw an increase in viewership, potentially due to greater diversity on the platform.
The growth of the top 1,000 channels, even with a decline for the top 100, indicates a rise in popularity for “middle tier” streamers. These channels, averaging over 2,100 hours of airtime, are not at the same level as the top influencers but are still making an impact on Twitch’s viewership.
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