Ultra.
Mixer made headlines last year when it signed an exclusivity deal with Ninja and Shroud — top live streamers that made the switch from Twitch. It was a big bet in the hopes of attracting a larger audience to the platform. Sadly, it appears this bet wasn’t enough to keep the live streaming platform from closing. Microsoft says Mixer will officially shut down on July 22.
Mixer is teaming up with Facebook Gaming to give its users a new home; however, it is still unclear how many people will make the transition. Once Mixer shuts down, there will be a vast ecosystem of potential live streamers searching for a new platform. Whichever platform can attract those users will have a serious advantage and may help in eventually competing with Twitch.
This quarter, Streamlabs is taking a closer look at each platform’s growth and how Mixer’s shut down may affect the industry. Thank you to Stream Hatchet, the leading provider in game-streaming analytics, for providing the data that helped formulate these insights.
Highlights:
- Twitch smashed its previously set records for hours watched, hours streamed, unique channels, and average concurrent viewership.
- Facebook Gaming reached 822 million hours watched on the platform, tripling its numbers year-over-year.
- The number of unique channels on Facebook Gaming increased 55% from last quarter and tripled year-over-year
- Hours watched on YouTube Gaming Live increased 39.6%% quarter-over-quarter
- The number of unique channels on Mixer reached all-time highs in Q2. There are now over 5 million channels that need to choose another platform to stream on.
- Valorant was the most-watched game on Twitch in a single quarter with 534 million hours, beating Fortnite which peaked at 399 million hours in Q2 of 2018
Twitch
Twitch is still by far the leader in the live streaming industry. Last quarter, they set all-time highs for both hours watched, hours streamed, and average CCV. This quarter they broke all of them. Twitch’s prevalence as an industry leader will surely be attractive to Mixer streamers looking for a new platform.
Total hours watched:
After surpassing three billion hours watched for the first time in Q1, Twitch smashed its own record again. The platform experienced a massive 62.7% increase in hours watched compared to the previous quarter and increased by 83.1% year over year. Twitch now represents 67.6% market share (up 2.6% from last quarter) compared to the other platforms.
Total hours streamed:
Twitch also shattered its record for the number of hours streamed. The total hours streamed on Twitch increased by 58.7% from the previous quarter and increased by 80.1% year over year.
Unique Channels:
The number of unique channels on Twitch increased by 63.9% compared to the previous quarter and increased by 78.6% year over year.
Average Concurrent Viewership:
The average concurrent viewership on Twitch increased by 63.4% since last quarter, reaching a new all-time high.
YouTube Gaming Live
YouTube Gaming Live continues to see steady growth quarter over quarter. The platform recently acquired top talent, Jack “CouRage” Dunlop and Rachell “Valkyrae” Hofstetter. The continued success of CouRage, in addition to being a major destination for content creators of all types, is sure to attract live streamers to YouTube.
Total hours watched:
YouTube Gaming Live experienced a 39.6% increase in hours watched compared to last quarter, and now represents 20% of the market share (down 2% from last quarter).
Total hours streamed:
YouTube Gaming Live experienced a 19.1% increase in the number of hours streamed on the platform compared to the previous quarter.
Unique Channels:
The number of unique channels on the platform increased by 22.7% compared to the previous quarter and increased 78.6% year over year.
Average Concurrent Viewership:
The average CCV on the platform is at an all-time high, increasing by 15.5% since the previous quarter.
Facebook Gaming
Facebook Gaming has experienced extensive growth consecutively over the last three quarters. With the news that Mixer will be shutting down for good on July 22, Facebook Gaming has an opportunity to secure a large ecosystem of potential live streamers. Whether their users decide to make the move has yet to be seen.
Total hours watched:
The total hours watched on Facebook Gaming increased by 48.5% compared to last quarter and represents 11% of the market share (same as last quarter). Year-over-year, Facebook Gaming has tripled the total hours watched on the platform.
Total hours streamed:
The number of hours streamed on Facebook Gaming increased by 22.6% compared to last quarter and more than doubled year-over-year. Year over year growth increased by 131.5%.
Unique Channels:
The number of unique channels on Facebook Gaming increased by 55.4% compared to the previous quarter and increased by 371.3 year-over-year.
Average Concurrent Viewership:
The average concurrent viewership on the platform has increased by 48.6% compared to the previous quarter and increased by 320.7% year-over-year.
Mixer
In terms of growth, this quarter ended up being one of Mixer’s best in recent months. This growth is a good sign. It still up in the air if many Mixer streamers will move to Facebook Gaming, but the growth demonstrated below is a good indicator that there is a sizable ecosystem of live streamers and their audiences that need somewhere to stream and watch. Whichever platform can attract those users is likely to see healthy growth next quarter.
Total hours watched:
Mixer reached 106 million hours watched in Q2, up 30.6% compared to the previous quarter. However, this number is still down 6.2% year-over-year. Mixer represented 1.4% of the market share in terms of hours watched (down .6% from last quarter).
Total hours streamed:
The total hours streamed on the platform increased by 28.5% compared to the previous quarter, reaching 36.3 million hours in Q2. While this growth is impressive, it is also important to note that this number is still slightly lower than its peak in Q1 of 2019.
Unique Channels:
Mixer has always had a great track record in terms of attracting streamers to its platform, and this quarter is no different. The number of unique channels on Mixer increased by 25.2% compared to the previous quarter, reaching an all-time high of 5.05 million live streamers. This means there are 5 million channels that need to pick another home to stream on.
Average Concurrent Viewership:
The average concurrent viewership reached an all-time high, increasing by 34% compared to the previous quarter.
Top Esports Watched in Q1 2020
ESL One: Road to Rio came in first with 27 million hours watched, followed by BLAST Premier Spring Showdown with 22 million hours watched, and finally, ESL Pro League Season 11: Europe came in third with 20.4 million hours watched.
Top Publishers Watched in Q1 2020
Riot Games was the most-watched publisher across all platforms, topping out at 462.7M, an 8% increase from last quarter. Epic Games fell to third place compared to the last quarter, while Valve took the second position.
Top “Games” Watched in Q1 2020
Valorant absolutely exploded in popularity this quarter at 534 million hours watched on Twitch alone. To put that into perspective, Fortnite at its peak viewership was 399 million hours on Twitch. Much of this viewership can be attributed to the fact that users needed to watch a live stream in order to receive an invite to the beta. It will be interesting to note their viewership when that incentive is no longer relevant next quarter.
In conclusion, Mixer’s shut down came as a complete shock. It took the live streaming industry by surprise and has the potential to disrupt the industry unlike anything else we’ve seen. It is worth noting that should Facebook Gaming secure the majority of streamers from the Mixer platform, it would still only scratch the surface of Twitch’s market share. However, capturing this audience would significantly help to eventually compete with Twitch in a meaningful way.
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