Streaming channel Twitch.tv has had no trouble accumulating and keeping a major audience, as we previously reported that the channel has doubled its numbers to 100 million viewers a month, with no signs of stopping. According to The New York Times, however, its popularity is now eclipsing that of popular cable channels.
As you can see from the chart above, Twitch’s audience has grown immensely since July 2012. Starting out at just under 100,000 or so, the audience has gradually grown during that time, and has now gotten to the point where its peak viewership has managed to rival that of average prime-time viewers of some cable networks, including CNN, MSNBC, and even MTV, a popular channel amongst teen viewers.
With thousands of broadcasters, millions of fans, and partnerships with companies like Coke and Old Spice, Twitch has had no trouble attracting audiences outside of hardcore gamers. That said, despite this popularity, The New York Times reports that the company is still “small,” as both Netflix and YouTube have larger numbers when it comes to video viewed per month — Netflix is eight times higher, while YouTube is 24 times higher. (To be fair, though, both of those services have more accumulated programming for viewers to sort through, while most Twitch broadcasts are only kept on the network for a limited time after live broadcasting.)
Twitch’s numbers are still too powerful to ignore, though. Below, you’ll see some of the more popular streamers’ numbers on the service, and just how long people tune in to watch a specific game, whether it’s Hearthstone or League of Legends.
It’s easy to see that numbers can differ depending on the streamer and title. While a game like ArmA III will only keep viewers for five hours, that’s still an incredible number. Meanwhile, Nightblue3 and trumpsc have no problem keeping viewers tuned in for nearly eight hours or more.
As a result, streamers have managed to make a living from the channel, through donations, ads and even subscriptions, should users be “hardcore” enough to follow them.
Game companies and sponsors also play a huge part in Twitch’s success, as indicated by the screen below.
Riot Games continues to rule the roost with consistent League of Legends viewership, while ESL TV and Red Bull Sports have steady audiences for hours at a time with a variety of game sessions, including Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm.
The numbers are calculated from a six-day moving average of the daily maximum number of viewers, while prime-time cable ratings are measured from numbers provided between September 2013 and August 2014.
Regardless, it shows just how far Twitch has come in just a few years’ time, combined with what we previously reported. And with Amazon now backing Twitch, these numbers will continue to expand.
