Stats reveal ridiculous amount fans spend on Twitch & other streaming sites

New stats for 2020 have revealed that UK consumers have spent more money on Twitch and other streaming sites than they did on pre-owned games.

Twitch has taken the world by storm in recent years, becoming one of the prime entertainment destinations on the internet for more than just gaming.

While gaming remains a key component of the Amazon-owned streaming site, IRL and Just Chatting broadcasts have revolutionized the industry, ushering in entirely new waves of fans.

As such, it’s no surprise that in the UK alone, fans spend a whopping £45.6m ($63.26m) on streaming and “game video content” according to Ukie.

Ukie

Streaming made big bucks in 2020.

Streaming sites are not limited to Twitch, however, as YouTube, Facebook and the now-defunct Mixer all had their share of fans. Remember, 2020 still had icons such as Ninja, shroud on Mixer while Dr Disrespect moved to YouTube following his bewildering ban on Twitch.

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“Included for the first time in 2020, streaming and game video content saw consumers spending £45.6m supporting streamers and other content creators, according to an analysis conducted by Ukie,” the research stated.

This amount is far more than what was spent on video game movies, books, magazines and soundtracks combined, which equaled out to £33.4m ($46.32m) in 2020.

Paramount Pictures

Even with Sonic, video game movies couldn’t match Twitch’s haul.

According to Ukie, this news comes despite the success of the critically acclaimed Sonic the Hedgehog movie in February and a “continuing positive trend in-game music revenues.”

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Of course, 2020 also saw, to no one’s surprise, gaming events saw a massively sharp decline in revenue. With the global health issues canceling most in-person events, only $345.46k was made throughout the year.

“While the impacts on operators in this space have been severe, several major events are already scheduled to return in 2021, while areas such as esports have relied upon digital-only routes,” Ukie wrote.

It will be interesting to see what 2021 holds and if it ends up being an even bigger year for streaming sites than 2020 turned out to be.