You can find all kinds of live streams these days, from gaming to sporting events to live shopping.
With live streaming becoming increasingly popular and many video platforms starting to adopt it, you might be wondering just how popular live streaming really is and how important it is for content creators.
That’s where this post comes in: We’re unpacking 103 live streaming statistics along with some live streaming trends.
Let’s jump straight into it.
Live streaming market statistics for 2023
Live video consumption is on the rise.
In the most recent years, live streaming saw a rise in both viewers and streamers — impacting the world and how content is delivered. Spoiler alert: Live streams are increasingly consumed on mobile devices.
Here are the top live streaming statistics that show how live video is shaping the creator economy:
- The global live streaming market grew from $1.24 billion in 2022 to $1.49 billion in 2023 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20.6%. The live streaming market is expected to grow to $3.21 billion in 2027 at a CAGR of 21.2%. (Research and Markets)
- By 2023, it’s forecasted that live video viewers in the US will reach 163.4 million. (Insider Intelligence)
- People spent around 548 billion hours streaming through mobile devices in 2021. (Infogram)
- Live video streaming is expected to have a revenue of $184.27 billion by 2027. (Grand View Research)
- Live streaming accounts for 23% of global viewing time. (Conviva)
- Globally, 41% of internet users have watched a live stream. (Adobe)
- Number of live streams for the online learning industry rose by 120% from 2021 to 2022. (Uscreen internal data)
- The total watch time for the faith & spirituality industry rose by 300% in a year. (Uscreen internal data)
- The average live stream duration increased by 30% in 2021. (Uscreen internal data)
- The total watch time of live streams per month in 2021 is 338K hours. (Uscreen internal data)
Now let’s check out other must-know live streaming video statistics.
Live streaming viewership statistics
But what are people live streaming? Turns out, inclusive and immersive content for all ages. However, statistics show that viewers value quality live streams above all.
Gaming is one of the most popular live streaming industries, alongside eSports, breaking news, and streamers just looking to chat with their audience. The most popular live streaming platform is Twitch (owned by Amazon) by a landslide.
Here are some live streaming statistics you should know if you’re wondering what people are watching and what you should be creating:
- Live streams get more viewing minutes watched with an average of 24 minutes, compared to video on demand with 18 minutes. (Conviva)
- Live shopping is already a lucrative market in China, where an estimated 45% of China’s digital shoppers (320 million people) will buy via livestream in 2023. (Insider Intelligence)
- Audiences watched over 8 billion stream hours in the first quarter of 2022. (Streamlabs)
- Live streamers spent over 250 million hours streaming in the first quarter of 2022. (Streamlabs)
- Game live streaming is expected to reach 920 million viewers by 2024. (Newzoo)
- Across all platforms, breaking news is one of the most popular video live streaming categories, making up 37% of viewership. (Vorhaus)
- The most-watched gaming live stream session was Free Fire – LATAM, with 3.8 million hours watched. (StreamHatchet)
- The esports competition “League of Legends Champions Korea” had the most hours of watched live streams in the beginning of 2022, with over 44 million hours watched. (Streamlabs)
- The Twitch category with the most hours watched in the first quarter of 2022 was “Just Chatting,” with 808 million hours watched. (Streamlabs)
- The most live-streamed video game in 2022 was “Grand Theft Auto V,” with 534 million hours watched. (StreamHatchet)
- Despite a 9% decline in overall live-streaming hours watched from Q2 2022 to Q2 2023, esports viewership continues to rise, up 4.1% from Q2 last year. (StreamHatchet)
- 20.6% of people want to see live streamed theater shows delivered, and 42% want more live sports events and music concerts. (GlobalWebIndex)
- People want live stream events to mirror in-person events. 38% want to see their favorite performers, 36% want high definition video, and 33% don’t want ads. (GWI 2020 Live Streaming Trends)
- Health and fitness verticals saw the most rapid adoption of live videos, with over 1300% increase in minutes live-streamed, between March and August 2020. (Uscreen)
- From 2020 to 2021, there were over 230 million hours watched in the music streaming category on Twitch. (StreamHatchet)
- Over 50% of people will leave a live stream in less than 90 seconds if the quality is low. (Tech Radar)
- In the gaming world, the leading platforms in the sector amassed around 7.2 billion hours of content watched during the third quarter of 2022 (Statista).
Want to see who’s watching live streams?
Live streaming audience statistics
Connecting with your audience in real-time is a big perk of live streaming content. People of all ages and from all places are logging on to social media mainly to watch live streams.
North America was the largest region in the live-streaming pay-per-view market in 2022. Asia-Pacific is expected to be the fastest-growing region in the global live-streaming pay-per-view market report during the forecast period, according to The Business Research Company.
From Boomers to Millennials, here are the demographics watching live streams:
- China leads the world when it comes to using live streaming for e-commerce. The website Taobao had an estimated $74 billion transaction value in 2021. (Live Streaming E-Commerce Report)
- 23.8% of internet users say the main reason for using social media is to watch live streams. (Digital 2022: Global Overview Report)
- 30.4% of people between the ages of 16 and 64 watch at least one live stream weekly. (Digital 2022: Global Overview Report)
- Gen Z and Millennials spend more time streaming, whereas Boomers and Gen Xers watch more broadcast TV. (GlobalWebIndex)
- 41% of gaming or social live streamers are female. (GWI Live Streaming 2020 Infographic)
- 39% of social media users watch sports live on social media platforms while 30% use social media videos to follow sports. (GWI Social Video Report 2019)
- Male social media users produced more live video than females as a result of the coronavirus outbreak in March 2020. (GWI coronavirus Research March 2020)
- In March 2020, 56% of live streamers in U.S. and U.K. planned to consume live videos after the coronavirus pandemic. (GWI coronavirus Research March 2020)
- In Q2 2023, xQc is back on top with the most hours watched this past quarter on his Twitch channel, with 34.4 million views. (StreamHatchet)
Now let’s jump into the platforms.
Live streaming platforms statistics
There is a whole world of platforms used for live streaming. Although Twitch is one of the biggest live streaming services in terms of watched hours, other live streaming platforms also have a lot to offer.
In fact, people have watched over one billion hours of live streams on YouTube alone, and Facebook has over 300 thousand unique channels for streaming, which shows the impact of live streaming among platforms.
Take a look at how these different live streaming platforms are performing:
- The two biggest live-streaming platforms continue to grow in platform market share in Q2 2023. YouTube Live Gaming and Twitch’s market shares both grew by 2% and 4% respectively when compared to the previous year (StreamHatchet).
- Over 50% of online video service providers identified overcoming latency as a challenge when streaming time-sensitive sports events. (Digital TV Europe)
- 28% of live social viewers streamed from multiple platforms, and 26% choose Facebook, 15% Snapchat, 13% Instagram, and 13% Twitter. (GWI Social Video Report 2019)
- 26% of consumers watch live videos to access exclusive content or services. (GWI Consumer Trends Report 2019)
- 31% of consumers believe that watching live videos will give them insider knowledge about a brand or its products. (GWI Consumer Trends Report 2019)
- 21% of people learn about new products via live video on social media. (GWI Social Media Trends Report 2020)
- 29% of internet users used the live stream option on social media in May 2020. (GWI Live Streaming 2020 Infographic)
- On average, social live streaming reaches between 5% to 14% more people than live gaming. (GWI Live Streaming 2020 Infographic)
- 61% of the esports viewership this quarter was watched on Twitch, with almost ⅓ on YouTube Gaming. The remaining 6.6% was watched on other platforms. (StreamHatchet)
YouTube Live
YouTube is home to 2 billion monthly active users and is the biggest video streaming platform. But it has also become the place to stream live for corporations, religious groups, and everyone in between.
A lot of YouTubers are able to monetize their content with Super Chat, which allows viewers to pay for their message to get highlighted in the live chat.
- People watched over 1.1 billion hours of streams on YouTube Gaming in 2022. (Streamlabs)
- 30% of people report watching at least one video live stream weekly on YouTube. (Digital 2022: Global Overview Report)
- Live streamers broadcasted over 8.7 million hours on YouTube Gaming in 2022. (Streamlabs)
- There were 490 thousand unique channels live streaming on YouTube Gaming in 2022. (Streamlabs)
- There was an average of 523 thousand viewers watching YouTube Gaming in the first quarter of 2022. (Streamlabs)
- YouTube Live TV has over 4 million subscribers. (Fierce Video)
- 8% of marketers use YouTube Live. (Social Media Examiner)
- With over 4 million viewers, SpaceX had the most concurrent views on a YouTube live stream worldwide. (Playboard)
- In the United States, Apple had the most concurrent views on a YouTube live stream, with over 2.7 million views. (Playboard)
And, of course, we have to mention Twitch.
Twitch
Twitch is the number one live streaming platform for gamers. It has active streamers in the millions, boasts billions of hours of live video views, and has a growing female gaming community.
- People watched over 6 billion hours of live streams on Twitch in 2022. (Streamlabs)
- Twitch has the most hours watched compared to YouTube and Facebook, with 76% of the market share. (Streamlabs)
- Twitch streamers live streamed 229 million hours in 2022. (Streamlabs)
- Twitch has the most hours streamed compared to YouTube and Facebook, with 91.5% of the market share. (Streamlabs)
- Twitch had almost 11 million unique channels streaming in 2022. (Streamlabs)
- There was an average of 2.7 million concurrent viewers watching streams on Twitch in 2022. (Twitch Tracker)
- 55% of Twitch users are between 18-34 years old. (Influencer Marketing Hub)
- Twitch has over 15 million unique daily visitors. (Venture Beat)
- There’s an average of 8.1 million monthly broadcasters on Twitch in 2022. (Twitch Tracker)
- TheGrefg is the channel with the highest number of viewers of all time on a Twitch live stream, with 2.4 million viewers. (Twitch Tracker)
- Just Chatting viewership continues to rise, with more than 166 million hours watched in August 2020. (StreamElements)
- 1% of marketers use Twitch Live (Social Media Examiner)
- 23% of global gamers watched live gaming in March 2020. (GWI Live Streaming 2020 Infographic)
- The United States accounts for the highest share of Twitch traffic, with users amounting to 33.2 million in 2022 (Insider Intelligence)
Facebook Live
Facebook’s impact on the world goes beyond groups and connecting with friends and family. Users turned to the platform for live sports events, and brands rely on it for reach.
- In 2022, people watched 803 million hours of live streams on Facebook Live. (Streamlabs)
- People live streamed over 12 million hours on Facebook Live in 2022. (Streamlabs)
- There were 335 thousand unique channels streaming on Facebook Live in 2022. (Streamlabs)
- There was an average of 372 thousand people watching live on Facebook Live in 2022. (Streamlabs)
- 29% of Facebook users who watch live streaming sports comment on what they are watching. (GWI Trends Report 2019)
- Facebook gaming saw a 210% increase in streaming hours between 2018 and 2019. (StreamElements)
TikTok Live
TikTok has evolved into a platform that’s for more than just teenagers, even older generations are tuning in.
- Around 26% of users used TikTok to watch a live stream in June of 2020. (Digital Information World)
- 46% of TikTok Live users are aged between 16 and 24. (GlobalWebIndex)
- 47% of TikTok Live users are single. (GlobalWebIndex)
- 20% of TikTok Live users are students. (GlobalWebIndex)
The microblogging platform embraced live video in 2016 and has seen phenomenal growth. With 45 million monetizable daily active users, Twitter has seen all sorts of events streamed live.
- When there’s a live event, Twitter gets around 14% more unique visitors. (Twitter Marketing)
- When live streaming a sport, 23% of viewers comment on the events they are watching. (GWI Social Video Report 2019)
LinkedIn Live
While LinkedIn’s live video service made it to market a little later, the platform is still as valuable as ever. And live streaming on LinkedIn can be a great way to connect brands to a bigger audience and potential employees.
- LinkedIn Live streams have grown by 158% since February 2020. (LinkedIn)
- Live videos on LinkedIn drive 7x more reactions and 24x more comments than standard video posts. (LinkedIn)
Instagram Live
In 2020, Instagram Live grew to become a powerful live streaming platform. With most Instagram accounts following a business, the photo sharing app showed that it is capable of attracting large audiences and powering businesses.
- Instagram captures around 13% of all live stream viewers on all social media. (GWI Social Video Report 2019)
- Instagram Live usage grew by 70% in April 2020. (Business Insider)
Snapchat Live
While often considered the “other social media app,” Snapchat still holds its own. The live stories platform started to attract more people to their platforms with live streams.
- 15% of Snapchatters watch live streams on the platform each month. (GWI Social Video Report 2019)
- 6 in 10 adults outside of China have watched a video or live stream on social media platforms including Snapchat. (GWI Social Video Report 2019)
Live streaming statistics by industry
Live streaming also impacts different industries, and brands and creators are using it in their favor to connect with audiences and generate revenue.
Since a lot of brands are finding live streams to be one of their most effective tools, they are expecting to spend more on live video content in the next year.
Here are live streaming stats content creators should know for each industry:
Business
- By 2023, brands are expected to spend more than $100 billion on video content. (Forrester)
- 80% of consumers prefer to watch live videos from a brand than read a blog. (New York Magazine)
- 82% of people prefer to watch live video from a brand over seeing a social media post. (New York Magazine)
Video marketing
- Live streaming is still unadopted by marketers, with only 36% marketers having published ‘live’ video content such as live streams on social media channels. (Wyzowl)
- 66% of B2C content marketers used live streaming as part of their content marketing strategy. (Content Marketing Institute)
Educators
- Online learning through video is expected to be worth $325 billion by 2025. (Forbes)
- 62% of educators find lectures more effective with video streaming. (New York Magazine)
- 58% of people use video to learn new skills. (Think With Google)
Live streaming monetization statistics
When it comes to making money with live streams, there are a couple of ways to monetize them.
From Super Chat to user donations and sponsorships, some streamers are making over a million dollars.
- The highest-paid Twitch channel is “Critical Role” that made over $9 million in just 3 years. (Dot Esports)
- “Russia Ch.” has an estimated $3 million Super Chat revenue, and it’s the most super-chatted YouTube channel worldwide. (Playboard)
- In the United States, the most super-chatted YouTube channel is “Timcast IRL” with over $1 million in Super Chat revenue. (Playboard)
Live streaming trends
Esports becomes a popular live streaming event
Esports live-streaming viewership continues to rise, with Q2’s hours watched up 3.7% from 2022 and more than double 2019’s numbers, as per StreamHatchet.
Over-The-Top (OTT) continues to grow
The latest OTT statistics show the rise of streaming content is here to stay. As people part ways with traditional TV, they are turning to streaming platforms like Netflix and Hulu.
But OTT isn’t just for big budget corporations. Video content creators can tap into OTT and live stream events to people’s smartphones, too. Read OTT Live Streaming: How to Deliver Your Streams to Mobile Devices and TVs for more on that.
New platform Kick becomes an instant hit
Kick, a new live-streaming platform, took 5th place in Q2 and 2% of the market. In addition to their 95-5 profit split, popular streaming creators moved onto the platform, bringing in a large number of users, as per StreamHatchet.
Wrapping up these live streaming statistics
Live streaming can be a powerful tool that is worth including in your content creation arsenal.
And platforms like Uscreen can make it even easier to create a live streaming website and host live events.
If these live streaming statistics inspired you to start live streaming, consider using Uscreen for your live streaming service and video monetization.
Live streaming statistics & trends FAQs
Still have questions about live streaming? We have the answers.
What percentage of people are live streaming?
Statista reports that as of the second quarter of 2022, the audience of video live streaming had experienced a small decrease compared to the third quarter of 2021, reaching around 29.5% of the global digital population.
Is live streaming still popular?
Yes, live streaming content is still very popular. Data shows that live streaming accounts for 23% of global viewing time. And globally, 41% of internet users have watched a live stream.
How many people watch live streaming?
By 2023, Insider Intelligence forecasts 163.4 million live video viewers in the US
