According to recent data, Twitch is witnessing a sharp drop in its market share as rivals YouTube and Kick have taken a notable amount of its share. This shift raises concerns about Twitch’s future and its ability to retain its leading position.
Twitch’s market share decline
Twitch experienced a dramatic decline in its market share in the second quarter of 2024. Stream Hatchet and Streams Charts reports show that Twitch’s percentage of hours watched decreased by around 10%. According to Streams Charts, the number of hours watched decreased from 5.5 billion to 4.8 billion and from 70% to 60%.
Jeremy Forrester, Twitch’s VP of community product, commented, “We truly believe that Twitch is the best service to be a live, interactive creator, and we want to give streamers more freedom in just how they want to build their communities.”
YouTube and Kick’s rise
While Twitch’s numbers are falling, YouTube and Kick are experiencing growth. YouTube saw an increase in market share from 17% to 23% and 23.4 billion hours of viewing. Kick expanded as well, gaining 462 million hours of viewing to take a 5.5% share. These websites are growing into formidable competitors in the livestreaming market.
Factors behind the shift
One of the main factors causing this transition is the change in Twitch’s simulcasting policies. Around the end of 2023, Twitch enabled streamers to stream simultaneously on several platforms. This meant streamers could broadcast on Twitch while also reaching audiences on YouTube, Kick and other platforms.
Streams Charts stated, “These rules took effect at the end of February and noticeably impacted Twitch’s viewership in the second quarter.”
The competitive landscape
The competition environment is evolving. AfreecaTV and Chzzk, two South Korean platforms, are also attracting more users. AfreecaTV’s market share is 3.4%, while Chzzk’s is 2.1%. Even yet, Twitch continues to be the biggest platform, albeit it has many obstacles to overcome to stay that way.
