With 2.1 million average viewers and over 4.7bn hours watched in the third quarter of 2020, Twitch continues dominating the global game streaming industry.
According to data gathered by Safe Betting Sites Canada, the popular live streaming platform hit 13bn hours watched between January and September, almost 90% more than YouTube Gaming and Facebook Gaming combined.
Twitch Accounted for 65% of All Streaming Hours Watched in 2020
With millions of people choosing an online video to get information about their favorite games, especially amid the coronavirus lockdown, the year 2020 delivered new records in the number of hours eSports fans spent watching the gaming titles on the popular video-sharing platforms.
Twitch, YouTube Gaming, and Facebook gaming reached a total of 4.9bn hours watched between January and March, a 16% increase compared to December 2019 figures, revealed the StreamHatchet data. In the second quarter of the year, this figure surged by 55% to 7.6bn. Statistics show Twitch witnessed the most impressive growth in this period, with its users watching a total of 5.1bn hours, almost 60% more than in the prior quarter.
In the second quarter of the year, the total hours watched on the three popular streaming platforms dropped to 7.4bn, still 94% more than a year ago. Despite securing partnerships with major influencers like Ninja and Shroud, Twitch decreased its quarterly hours watched by around 375 million between July and September.
The StreamHatched data show that Twitch, as the most popular streaming platform globally, accounted for 65% of all hours watched in the nine months of 2020. YouTube Gaming had a 21% market share in this period, with a total of 4.3bn hours watched. Facebook Gaming followed, with 2.6bn hours and a 14% market share, respectively.
Number of Twitch Viewers Jumped by 70% YoY
Besides a surge in the number of hours watched, Twitch also has witnessed a significant increase in viewers’ count in 2020.
In December 2019, the average number of viewers on the popular streaming platform amounted to 1.2 million. By the end of March, this figure jumped to 1.4 million and continued rising. In the second quarter of 2020, Twitch had more than 2.3 million average viewers, a 65% jump in three months.
The number of viewers slightly dropped to 2.1 million in the third quarter of 2020, still a 70% increase year-over-year.
Statistics show the number of active streamers also significantly increased amid the coronavirus lockdown, growing from 3.9 million in January to 7.5 million in September.
Analyzed by geography, the United States represents Twitch’s largest market, with almost 25% market share as of October. Germany ranked second with a 6.6% market share last month. Russia, Canada, and Brazil follow, with 4.9%, 4.2%, and 4% share, respectively.
