Facebook says over 200 million people watch its game broadcasts

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The tech giant is aware of its reputation. “We take this approach of presenting ourselves politely, introducing ourselves … and delivering results with respect,” Vivek Sharma, head of Facebook Gaming, told CNN Business.

With Mixer out of the picture, the live gaming landscape remains dominated by Amazon’s Twitch, which hit more than 5 billion viewing hours for the quarter ending June, followed by Google’s YouTube with 1.5. billion hours of viewing. Facebook Gaming comes in third place, clearly behind the others with 822 million viewing hours, according to a report from live streaming software company Streamlabs, which is owned by Logitech.

Viewing hours are one of the most common metrics to measure the popularity and success of a live streaming platform, telling advertisers and viewers how many millions of people are. on the platform with money to spend on content creators through subscriptions and donations.

In the quarter ending in June, before its shutdown, Mixer finished in last place with 106 million viewing hours, according to Streamlabs. Mixer said in a June blog post that the platform hasn’t grown fast enough.
This was despite Mixer’s splashing multi-million dollar deals with streamers like Ninja and Shroud. The platform has made headlines by signing exclusive multi-year deals to content creators offering millions of dollars over the past year.

Analysts and Competitors Reflect on What They Learned About Throwing Money Strategy to attract the most popular designers. Mixer’s fate proved fans don’t always follow a creator on a new platform.

“We’re not really chasing the big names because we don’t think it’s a pure content business,” Sharma said. “If you think this is a pure content business, you end up being deeply disappointed because the numbers often don’t come.”

Acquiring talent can still be an effective strategy for other platforms like YouTube, but building community is also important, said Doron Nir, CEO of live streaming service provider StreamElements.

“I just don’t think dumping $ 20 million or $ 30 million [on talent] is a silver bullet, “he said.” There are no silver bullets.

When contacted for comment, Twitch directed CNN Business to a tweet in June where he wished Mixer streamers well and said “Twitch is here to help.” It also referred CNN Business to its news page where it says it has 17.5 million average daily visitors, but does not divide monthly user data.
Facebook Gaming said that more than 700 million of its 2.4 billion active users “engage” each month with gaming content on its platform. That’s the same stat she gave to CNN Business last November and Sharma acknowledges the number hasn’t changed, although engagement and viewing times for the most recent quarter are up 200% from last year.

“We’re very proud that our count is high, but we’re not just empty calories on the road to success, we’re not just adding random eyeballs. We’re actually deepening engagement,” Sharma said.

For the first time, Facebook breaks down what those 700 million plus people do: over 380 million of them play games like “Farmville” every month, and 200 million live game views. Some 230 million participate in playgroups. Some of these people do more than one activity and can therefore be counted more than once.

About 120-130 game makers initially rejected Facebook Gaming’s openings but eventually moved on. after seeing others do it successfully. Sharma said, although he refused to share the number of Mixer streamers moved to Facebook.

SAN DIEGO, CA - SEPTEMBER 29: Fans entering TwitchCon at the San Diego Convention Center on September 29, 2019 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Martin Garcia / ESPAT Media / Getty Images)
Much of Facebook Gaming’s strength lies in mobile and in regions outside of the United States where Twitch has not planted its flag, Sharma said. The Facebook Gaming mobile app launched on iOS on Friday, after Apple repeatedly rejected a version of the app that allegedly contained games. The app was released for Android in April.
One reason for the delay: One version of the Facebook app contained games that violated Apple’s App Store guidelines that an app cannot look too much like Apple’s own store. Apple has undergone antitrust regulatory review in the United States and Europe for its practices on the App Store. The company did not respond to comments.

After Mixer’s shutdown, Twitch streamer Ninja, the platform’s biggest star, surprised viewers with a YouTube livestream before later returning to Twitch as well. It has not announced any exclusive contract with either platform.

“We welcome any content from him,” Ryan Wyatt, global head of games on YouTube, wrote in an email, adding that “engagement is on the rise in all areas” during the pandemic. YouTube Gaming has 200 million daily active users and has no monthly data to share. The global YouTube platform has 2 billion users logged in every month.



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