Daniel Slotta
Research expert covering Greater China
Live streaming - statistics & facts
Live video content is no longer a novelty. In the entertainment industry, the popularity of live streaming as a format has been linked to the gaming world. Almost thirty percent of internet users worldwide watched live streaming content weekly in the last quarter of 2023. Breaking news and sports were the most popular categories of livestream videos among U.S. audiences as of March 2024.
As of the fourth quarter of 2023, less than three in 10 global respondents named watching live streaming as a reason to use social media. At the end of 2023, live streaming was more popular than tutorials and educational videos online, while music videos were still the most engaging types of videos consumed online.
Professional gamers and eSports content the interest of millions of fans worldwide, with the South American Closed Qualifier for the Esports World Cup in June 2024 reaching a peak viewership of over 54,000 users.
From its niche start within gaming communities, the growing availability of live streaming content on social media and e-commerce made this format more popular than in previous years. Users have familiarized themselves with the format, and while traditional TV viewership experiences a long-going crisis, video audiences demonstrate a healthy appetite for online content. As live streaming acquires its space within digital video, it remains to be seen what type of use and content category will become users鈥 favorites.
Social live streaming in the U.S.
While gaming appeared to be the most popular live video content category for global users, the format has evolved to include more social content, such as live vlogging, tutorials, and chat sessions.As of the fourth quarter of 2023, less than three in 10 global respondents named watching live streaming as a reason to use social media. At the end of 2023, live streaming was more popular than tutorials and educational videos online, while music videos were still the most engaging types of videos consumed online.
Gaming and eSports
Live streaming has been synonymous with watching gamers play, but the combo of video games and in real-time online broadcasts allows more than passive viewing. During the first quarter of 2024, global users watched over three billion hours of gaming content on Twitch as well as 250 million hours of new game releases, making the Amazon-owned platform the leading gaming live stream platform worldwide. Steam 鈥 which allows users to stream their gaming sessions to their friends 鈥 reported less than 80 million hours of live content streamed.Professional gamers and eSports content the interest of millions of fans worldwide, with the South American Closed Qualifier for the Esports World Cup in June 2024 reaching a peak viewership of over 54,000 users.
Political live streaming content
The upcoming presidential elections in the United States have seen the political debates permeate every medium, including live streaming. According to a global survey conducted among political long-form content viewers in June 2024, over half of respondents reported watching live streaming content. In the United States, both politicians and content creators have been carving out a space for their content on the leading streaming platform, Twitch. As of July 2024, the Twitch channel of the former U.S. president and Conservative candidate Donand Trump was reported to have the highest number of peak concurrent viewers among channels streaming political content on the platform, with over 3,000 concurrent viewers. Online video hosting and streaming platform Rumble has been making a name for itself in the alternative and conservative political scene, with personalities such as Dan Bongino, a former NYPD officer turned content creator, hosting the most popular political show on the platform.From its niche start within gaming communities, the growing availability of live streaming content on social media and e-commerce made this format more popular than in previous years. Users have familiarized themselves with the format, and while traditional TV viewership experiences a long-going crisis, video audiences demonstrate a healthy appetite for online content. As live streaming acquires its space within digital video, it remains to be seen what type of use and content category will become users鈥 favorites.
