AfreecaTV, a local video streaming platform, is outperforming internet giants Naver and Kakao in the Korean market as it attracts popular streamers from Twitch, the U.S.-based streaming service that announced its withdrawal from Korea last month. What are the reasons behind AfreecaTV's success and what are its future plans?
## AfreecaTV's appeal to streamers
One of the main factors that boosted AfreecaTV's influence is its streamer-friendly revenue distribution policy. Unlike other platforms that take a large cut from streamers' earnings, AfreecaTV allows streamers to keep 70 percent of their revenue from donations and subscriptions, and 100 percent of their revenue from advertisements. This gives streamers more incentives to join and stay on AfreecaTV.
Another factor is AfreecaTV's relatively less strict regulations on content. While other platforms have strict rules on what streamers can and cannot do, such as banning certain games, music, or topics, AfreecaTV gives more freedom to streamers to create diverse and creative content. This appeals to streamers who want to express themselves without worrying about censorship or penalties.
## AfreecaTV's star streamers
AfreecaTV has successfully attracted some of the most popular streamers in Korea, who have millions of followers on Twitch and YouTube. Some of the notable streamers who have moved to AfreecaTV are:
- Woowakgood, a game streamer who has over 1 million Twitch followers and 1.6 million YouTube subscribers. He is known for his humorous and witty commentary on various games, especially League of Legends.
- ISEGYE IDOL, a virtual girl group that works with Woowakgood. They have over 800,000 YouTube subscribers and have released several songs, such as "Kidding" and "Dance With Me".
- Faker, a professional esports gamer who is widely regarded as the best League of Legends player of all time. He has over 1.3 million Twitch followers and 1.2 million YouTube subscribers. He is the captain of T1, one of the most successful esports teams in the world.
- YoonRoot, a game streamer who has over 600,000 Twitch followers and 900,000 YouTube subscribers. He is known for his skillful and entertaining gameplay of various games, especially StarCraft.
These streamers have a huge fan base and influence in the streaming industry, and their move to AfreecaTV has boosted the platform's viewership and reputation.
## AfreecaTV's future plans
AfreecaTV is not resting on its laurels, but is planning to expand its service and reach more users. It recently announced its platform renovation plan, stating that it will change its name to SOOP in the third quarter of this year. SOOP stands for "Stream On Our Platform", and reflects AfreecaTV's ambition to become a global streaming platform that can compete with the likes of YouTube and Twitch.
AfreecaTV also plans to improve its user interface, content quality, and service stability, as well as introduce new features and functions, such as live commerce, VR streaming, and AI-based content recommendation. It also aims to support more streamers and creators by providing them with various benefits and opportunities, such as education, funding, and collaboration.
AfreecaTV is confident that it can become the leading streaming platform in Korea and beyond, as it has a loyal and passionate community of streamers and viewers, as well as a unique and diverse content portfolio.
Commentaires