Streaming Platform is AfricaTV's 'Cheonha'... Daily Users Surge by 2x

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After streaming platform Twitch announced it would withdraw from South Korea on the 27th of next month, AfreecaTV has been shown to have an advantage over Naver Chijijik.

According to data from Mobile Index, a mobile big data provider, as of the 9th of this month, the daily active users (DAU) of Chijijik were less than half of AfreecaTV's. While Chijijik's DAU was in the 300,000 range, AfreecaTV's DAU sometimes exceeded 700,000. Although these figures only account for mobile users excluding PC, the market evaluates that AfreecaTV has an edge in user inflow.

AfreecaTV's advantage is due to its solid existing user base since it started service in 2005, combined with news of recruiting major streamers. In the streaming market, user loyalty to streamers is high, so if a streamer moves platforms, users are likely to follow.

AfreecaTV is aggressively recruiting, including streamer Uwakkud, who has surpassed 1 million followers on Twitch. The six-member idol group Isegye Idol (Ise-dol), formed through the Uwakkud planning audition, has also confirmed their move to AfreecaTV. Looking at the recruitment list, AfreecaTV streamers are considered to have higher name value. Streamer Ag-eo, who has 390,000 Twitch followers and 1.23 million YouTube subscribers, has also officially announced his move to AfreecaTV.

The transfer of major streamers has had a positive effect on AfreecaTV's business outlook. After the transfers of Uwakkud and Ise-dol were confirmed, the stock price surged 15.96% last week. A company official said, "In internet broadcasting, viewer loyalty is relatively high, so when streamers move, viewers are expected to move platforms accordingly," adding, "With the recruitment of major streamers, we can expect not only viewer migration but also synergy with existing users."

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However, Chijijik has also recruited game streamer Pungwollyang, as well as Handongsuk and Seosaebomnyang. There are still many major streamers such as Chimchakman and Rallo who have not yet decided on their transfer platform, so the final evaluation may change depending on their moves.

In the streaming industry, expansion into overseas markets is also identified as an important factor. AfreecaTV is showing active moves, including launching a beta service. They plan to launch the beta version of the global live streaming platform 'SOOP' within the second quarter of this year. Additionally, within the third quarter, the domestic service name of the AfreecaTV platform will be changed to SOOP. SOOP will be available in English, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Thai, and AfreecaTV plans to focus its business on countries where these languages are supported.

AfreecaTV plans to announce its user inflow and other self-collected data following Twitch's announcement when it releases last year's performance results next month.

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