Concerns linger over the viability of live streaming platform Twitch

A decade ago, Amazon took the plunge to acquire Twitch in a deal worth $1 billion. Amazon’s vision? To transform Twitch into the next YouTube. However, according to a recent report from the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the live streaming platform continues to lose money despite generating annual revenues worth $2 billion.

Earlier this year, Bloomberg claimed that more than a third (35%) of Twitch staff were laid-off. Since November 2023, the platform’s chief customer officer, chief revenue officer, and chief content officer have each announced their departure from the company. Twitch also sought to close its operations in South Korea, citing unsustainable overheads, with network fees said to be ten times as expensive as those in most other nations.

Has Twitch failed to build on its early dominance?

Live streaming certainly skyrocketed in popularity around the turn of the new decade. However, as with many other digital trends which shot to prominence in 2020 and 2021, its growth has since decelerated.

There’s no doubt that Twitch has been a big success for certain niches of live streamers. US-based streamer, Ninja, was one of the first “mega streamers” of the Twitch community, racking up a staggering 18.4 million Twitch subscribers, as well as an additional 12.7 million and 23.8 million folllowers on Instagram and YouTube respectively.

In the world of PC gaming, Twitch streamers have managed to cultivate their own communities with relative ease. Football Manager is a popular football management sim game which several Twitch streamers have shot to prominence in by broadcasting their virtual managerial journeys and bringing their viewers along for the ride.

Twitch has also been a game-changer for the online poker scene, especially for poker newbies keen to learn more and pick up tips from well-established professionals. The leading online poker rooms have launched their own official Twitch portals which cover high-profile cash games and online tournaments. All of these are designed to help those learning how to play poker online by equipping them with alternative strategies and approaches at each stage of a tournament or cash game.

However, one of the biggest issues for the Twitch live streaming platform in 2024 and beyond is that this is no longer the unrivalled portal for live streamed content. Other platforms have caught up, including YouTube. It would also be remiss not to mention the rise of TikTok, which has led to pent-up demand for even shorter-form content. Another issue which Twitch need to reconcile is that streamers are no longer beholden to their Twitch channel for the success of their streaming communities. Content creators have acknowledged they can spread their reach – and risk – across multiple platforms instead.

An app revamp will aim to help Twitch compete with TikTok

In late July, Twitch’s internal developers set about reimagining the mobile user experience of the Twitch platform. Its native mobile app was given a major overhaul, driven by viewer behaviour trends. A TikTok-style feed now sits at the heart of the Twitch app, encouraging users to experience various related content based on the current streamers they follow.

The revamped Twitch app was made available to all iOS and Android users before the end of last month. The decision to redesign the Twitch app was also based on its demographic. More than half of all loyal Twitch users “primarily” stream content live via their smartphones or tablet devices. The company said it was driven to make life easier for their mobile users, whilst ensuring the user experience was “fun” enough to entice them back for more.

Aside from the new TikTok-esque content discovery feed, the new Twitch app also includes a new “Browse” tab. The process to start your own live stream has also been streamlined using the + button.

As well as building on its established live streaming communities in the world of gaming and leisure, Twitch is also reaching out to the music scene. A new official “DJ” category is to be launched, allowing DJs, artists and record labels to live stream. It will function exclusive to the existing “Music” category, with the DJ category featuring a growing list of copyright-approved songs to play during streams. Live performances from the likes of Sofi Tukker, Sam Feldt, Aluna, and Zedd will help to unveil the category which aims to introduce new music to engaged listeners.