If you still don’t know what Twitch is, today we discover one of the fastest growing networks in recent years and the home of millions of video game lovers around the world.
Twitch is the world’s largest live streaming platform, and since its inception, it has specialized in broadcasting video game sessions, although it increasingly offers a wider variety of content such as music, lifestyle, user chats, and sports. In fact, major sports clubs like Real Madrid, PSG, or Arsenal have their own channels on the platform. The platform itself defines its purpose as follows: “Twitch is where millions of people come together live every day to chat, interact, and create their own entertainment.”
To understand the magnitude of Twitch, it is enough to take a look at the Twitch Tracker website, where we can see the platform’s evolution since its inception. According to their data, in 2023 there was a total of 7.3 million channels broadcasting live on the platform each month. Additionally, it had an average of almost 2.5 million simultaneous viewers. In total, Twitch was watched for a total of 1.286 billion minutes in 2023.
According to current data from the platform itself, Twitch receives more than 105 billion visitors per month and has an average audience of over 2.5 million viewers. Furthermore, each month, approximately 7 million content creators go live on the platform, and in 2023, more than 10 million individuals ventured into their first Twitch broadcast.
In 2023, the total minutes watched on the platform reached 1.3 trillion. In the United States, the majority of the audience that watches Twitch is male, accounting for 63%. In terms of age, there’s no doubt that Twitch is a platform for centennials and millennials, as over 70% of viewers fall within the 18 to 34 age range.
By country, the United States has the most users; as of July 2023, 20.36% of the platform’s traffic originated from the United States. It is followed by Germany (7.03%), Russia (5.11%), South Korea (5.04%), and France (4.56%). Since September 2018, Twitch has been blocked in China.
Twitch was born in 2011 as a spin-off of Justin.tv, focused in video game streaming. The community grew so rapidly that it soon caught the attention of tech giants.
In 2014, it was acquired by Amazon for $970 million after failing to reach agreements with Google. Today, the service is included as part of the Amazon Prime subscription. Although the platform is primarily known for video game streaming, over time, it has diversified its content to include music, sports, and other types of live content.
Since its acquisition by Amazon, Twitch has continued to grow, leveraging the success of eSports worldwide. It has gained so much popularity that there is even a TwitchCon, a convention that allows you to meet streamers, play games, and participate in eSports competitions.
Twitch allows users to create and watch live broadcasts. Streamers broadcast events in real-time and interact with the audience through chat.
When going live, the streamer selects a category and tags that will be used in search results and recommendations. There are numerous categories and tags on Twitch, so it’s crucial to classify your streams correctly to reach your audience.
Both followers and subscribers of a Twitch channel can watch the streams for free. However, subscribers pay a monthly fee that grants them a set of benefits and supports the content of the channel they subscribe to. Depending on the subscription tier, you may be able to watch ad-free streams, access subscriber-exclusive streams, engage in private conversations with the streamer, double your channel points, and use subscriber emoticons and badges.
Creating an account on Twitch is very simple. Whether on a computer or mobile, follow these steps:
Tip: Activate two-factor authentication to keep your account secure and be able to livestream.
After creating your account, you can log in and begin your journey in the world of streaming. However, it is not necessary to be a streamer to have Twitch, as you can use it solely as a viewer.
Before starting, customize your channel: profile picture, header, accent color, description, etc. You can also add your other social media accounts so your followers can connect with you on those platforms, helping you build a stronger community.
Decide where you will stream from. You can use either a mobile device or a computer. However, you should keep in mind that you may need some live streaming tools.
Typically, Twitch recommends installing programs like Streamlabs OBS or Twitch Studio to enhance the appearance of your broadcasts from a computer. You will need to link the software to your account. However, if you prefer to stream without additional software, you can do so directly from your browser using Lightstream Studio.
Keep in mind that you may also need peripherals like cameras, headphones, a microphone, or lighting to improve the quality of your stream.
If you have selected Twitch Studio, once installed, you will need to log in to your Twitch account.
1. The startup guide will help you configure your microphone, webcam, and other technical aspects of your stream, such as adding voice filters or noise cancellation to enhance audio quality.
2. Once you have set up your camera, you can move on to selecting the scenes you will use during your stream. Twitch Studio also provides customizable templates to enhance the appearance of your stream.
You can edit these scenes during the initial setup or later through the “Stream Scene” panel. To edit a scene, hover your cursor over the scene you want to modify and click on “Edit.”
3. From there, you can add different layers to your scene by clicking the “Plus (+)” icon to the right of “Layers.” A new screen will then appear, allowing you to add alerts, images, colors, text, and more.
4. Alerts and chat are integrated, which will help you easily monitor channel activity and interact with your community in real time. This point is very important since it will be up to you to build a strong community that adheres to the platform’s guidelines.
5. You can also add additional extensions by accessing the creator dashboard, such as adding fun sounds to your alerts to enhance the experience for your viewers.
6. Once everything is set up… it’s time to start! You just need to click the “Start Stream” button.
7. Customize your stream: give it a title, edit the notification that will be sent to your followers, and choose a category based on what you will be broadcasting. This will make it easier for you to reach more people who are interested in your content. Finally, click on “Go Live” and you will begin streaming on Twitch.
Keep in mind that to stream using this software, your system will need to meet certain minimum requirements. However, the recommended specifications are as follows:
Adding a personalized link to your PayPal account or creating a donation panel allows viewers to make donations to your channel easily.
The requirements to become an affiliate are as follows:
Twitch’s affiliate program offers the following advantages:
In addition to the Prime Gaming subscription, Twitch offers subscriptions priced at $4.99, $9.99, and $24.99. Streamers receive a 50% share of subscription revenue. However, for highly successful channels (averaging more than 10,000 viewers per month), they can earn up to 70% of the earnings.
Additionally, followers can give gift subscriptions, where they pay for a subscription to your channel on behalf of another user. These gift subscriptions support the channel in the same way and help grow your community.
These are virtual currencies that users can purchase to send Cheers, animated emoticons to celebrate the best moments. Streamers receive 1 cent per Bit.
You can also receive bonuses by using Bits through extensions. This will enhance innovative experiences on your channel. You will earn 80% of $0.01 for each Bit used within your channel’s extension, while the remaining 20% goes to the extension creator.
Earn a portion of advertising revenue on your channel and determine the duration and frequency of mid-roll ads. Earnings depend on the CPM (Cost Per Mille, or cost per thousand impressions) and active ad campaigns.
Post links to a product on Amazon in your channel. If a viewer purchases a product through your link, you’ll earn a commission for all items in the shopping cart, not just the ones you advertised.
In addition to all the benefits of the affiliate program, partners have more customization options and channel tools. Explore all the difference here.
The requirements to become a partner are:
Prime Gaming is a service included with Amazon Prime and Prime Video that offers:
You can try Prime Gaming for 30 days completely free, and after this trial period, you can continue using the service for $4.99 per month, with the ability to cancel the subscription at any time.
Twitch’s business model, along with criticisms of YouTube, has led to a significant migration of content creators from YouTube to Twitch in recent years.
Twitch began reaching out to YouTubers, promising them higher earnings, and the results were not long in coming. Many creators have publicly stated that they earn more income through Twitch than YouTube, even with fewer views and followers.
Some of the most notable moves came from creators like PewDiePie, Casey Neistat, Logan Paul, Ibai Llanos, AuronPlay o El Rubius to name a few.
YouTube quickly counterattacked by signing exclusive streaming contracts with Twitch gamers like Valkyrae, LazarBeam, and Muselk for their YouTube Gaming service, successfully regaining some of the lost stars. Even Facebook Gaming entered the gaming live streaming market, indicating that the battle for video game live streaming is only just beginning.
Currently, Twitch has its own ecosystem of prominent influencers, including well-known figures like Rubius and Auronplay. In Spain, two names stand out above the rest: TheGrefg, who held the record for the highest live audience on the platform for a long time, and Ibai Llanos, who surpassed that record in June 2022 with the “LaVelada” livestream (3.3 million viewers) and once again broke records in 2023 with “La Velada del Año 3” reaching 3.4 million viewers.
A figure that was surpassed again during “La Velada” of 2024, reaching 3.8 million viewers, once again achieving the record for the most-watched live stream. Llanos is undoubtedly the most recognized face for non-Twitch users, thanks to his involvement in eSports and partnerships with figures like footballer Gerard Piqué, among other initiatives.
The coronavirus pandemic significantly boosted Twitch’s consumption. The number of active channels grew from 3.75 million in February 2020 to 7.4 million in July of the same year. This represented an increase of nearly 200% in just four months.
Source: TwitchTracker.com
In response to the exponential growth of the platform and to prevent users from getting tired of the same type of content, Twitch decided to invest in new formats and diversify its content offerings.
Some examples of this type of content include series, live interactive shows, and self-produced interviews related to video games, sports, or music, all aimed at attracting different audiences to the platform.
For instance, in July 2020, several Premier League matches were live-streamed on Twitch, and organizations like the NBA, NHL, MLS, and MLB have also established a presence on the streaming platform.
According to data from TwitchTracker, in February of this year, the number of active streamers reached 7.82 million, approximately 300,000 more streamers than in the same month last year.
Despite all that has been discussed, it should not be considered that Twitch is going through a bad period, far from it. One only needs to look at the astronomical figures of users, views, and content creators.
We must consider the revolution that the pandemic brought to this social network. The conditions resulting from it created an ideal scenario for this platform and other social networks. It was expected that at some point, the enthusiasm might wane a bit. With the return to “normal,” we have resumed old habits and undergone a slight digital detox (we are still hooked, but now we go out), so it’s not surprising that the use and consumption of a platform like Twitch has decreased.
Adding to this, the fact that awareness of this social network continues to increase year after year, the future scenario appears more than favorable. Can Twitch become the future of entertainment?
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