Is there a market for people to watch other people playing video games? Back in the day of the arcade, that was more or less the case with people crowding around pros while they battled it out, but these days thanks to technology and platforms like Twitch, this can all be done from the comfort of our own homes.
In fact according to data from Macquarie analyst Benjamin Schachter presented on StreetInsider (via GamesIndustry), Twitch’s January 2018 concurrent viewership might have actually surpassed that of traditional news outlets such as MSNBC and CNN. The report claims that Twitch’s concurrent viewership peaked at 962,000, which is higher than MSNBC and CNN which clocked in at 885,000 and 783,000.
Unfortunately it seems that for now, Twitch is still behind the likes of Fox News Channel and ESPN, both of whom peaked at around 1.5 million viewers. However despite this achievement, Schachter seemed a bit troubled that games that were popular a year ago were no longer popular a year later, suggesting that the scene is rather fickle at the moment.
Schachter was quoted as saying, “Esports as a whole is becoming a more concrete opportunity, but which games and genres will be the most popular/viewed esports over time is unclear.” That being said, we’re starting to see more games make their way onto Twitch, such as Blizzard’s Overwatch in which the Overwatch League can be officially streamed via the platform.
This partnership between Blizzard and Twitch also resulted in the streaming platform attracting 10 million views of the Overwatch League in its first week.
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