If you follow the video game streaming scene, you know there’s a lot of money to be made for top streamers on platforms like Twitch. Much of that money comes from ad revenue and viewership, but video game publishers are also losing a lot of money for some of those streamers’ precious screen real estate.
In a new report from The Wall Street Journal, some light has been shed on the streaming industry and how the popularity of sites like Twitch has changed the video game marketing landscape. Traditional ads and reviews are no longer enough, with many gamers spending hours a week watching others play the games they care about, so tapping into this market can be essential.
WSJ notes that Twitch users, for example, spent 8.9 billion hours watching streamers in 2018, up from a still-impressive 6.3 billion hours in 2017. Those hungry eyes open up plenty of opportunities for publishers and game makers to reach new markets – if their wallets are big enough.
Lots of money for big streamers
When talking about streamers, it’s important to note that there are levels to this ish. While some streamers do well while maintaining a hundred or more viewers, the big money comes with streamers like Ninja, DrLupo, Asmongold, and Shroud. These people attract thousands (or even tens of thousands of viewers) every time they broadcast. There’s a lot of power there.
And that power can equal a lot of money from sponsored streams (which should be marked as such). According to Reed Duchscher, chief executive of Night Media Inc., a company that represents streamers, those with more than 15,000 concurrent viewers can earn between $25,000 and $35,000 per hour when launching a big name.
Take for example, Apex Legends, a game seemingly out of nowhere. EA used streamers like the ones mentioned above to push the game at launch, which helped propel it into the stratosphere, where the free game was eventually downloaded 50 million times within a month of its release.
So who wants to start streaming with me?
What do you think? Surprised that such large sums are injected into streamers? Let us know below in the comments or forward the discussion to our Twitter or Facebook.
