Lately, an increasing number of popular Twitch streamers have embraced multicasting, streaming simultaneously on multiple platforms. This trend emerged following Twitch's relaxation of its exclusivity requirement and its decision to no longer restrict channel monetization for multicasting.
Twitch streamers frequently conduct simultaneous broadcasts on platforms like YouTube and TikTok, and depending on their location, they may also utilize platforms such as AfreecaTV or Naver's Chzzk. Multicasting offers a straightforward and efficient method to expand audience reach, but its effectiveness varies. To assess this, one can examine the case of Gaules, Brazil's top Twitch streamer, who began multicasting on YouTube and TikTok in late March 2024.
To estimate the impact of multicasting on Gaules, we analyzed the metrics of his streams before and after expanding to new platforms. Between February 5th and March 18th (a span of 42 days), his exclusive Twitch broadcasts accumulated 14.2 million Hours Watched. Following the introduction of multicasting from March 19th to April 28th (the same 42-day period), Gaules' Twitch streams garnered 16.1 million HW, with an additional 4.8 million HW on YouTube.
Thanks to big events and multicasting on YouTube, the total Hours Watched of Gaules' streams increased by almost 46.6%. YouTube contributed 33.9% to this growth, while Twitch saw a growth of 12.7%. At the same time, streams on TikTok proved unappealing to the Brazilian streamer's audience, accounting for less than 0.01% of the total watch time.
During the PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 matches on March 22nd, Gaules' stream on YouTube achieved 483.6K Hours Watched and attracted over 84.3K Peak Viewers, marking his best performance on the platform to date.
Following the major, Gaules' metrics naturally declined. While his streams during the key days of the Major amassed up to 1.8 million Hours Watched, this figure never exceeded 1.1 million HW per day post-tournament. Gaules specializes in covering esports events, and the popularity of his streams heavily relies on tournament schedules, as indicated by the watch time graph. Currently, Gaules obtains approximately 20.5% of his total watch hours from YouTube streams.
The example of Gaules demonstrates that multicasting can indeed significantly expand audience reach, especially when branching out to other platforms coincides with a hype-inducing event, such as coverage of esports tournaments. However, Gaules' modest results on TikTok indicate that not all platforms are equally effective for multicasting.