Twitch is lagging behind TikTok, YouTube in livestreaming wars

Twitch may be the platform most people associate with livestreaming, but the numbers tell a different story.

According to new data from Stream Charts, Amazon’s livestreaming giant has slipped to third place globally. The Global Livestreaming Landscape report for Q1, released April 29, puts TikTok Live ahead of Twitch, trailing only YouTube Live at the top.

TikTok Live racked up over 8 billion hours watched between January and March — a 30 percent jump from Q4. That surge is credited partly to the rising popularity of IRL content and a wave of gaming events across Southeast Asia that pulled in massive viewership.

TikTok’s e-commerce engine is another driving force behind the platform’s upward trajectory. Combine that with the frictionless experience of tuning into a stream on your phone, and its continued surge in viewership feels inevitable.

More than anything, TikTok’s most significant advantage over Twitch is discovery. Surfacing new creators is baked into the platform’s DNA — something Twitch has struggled with for years. The gap is so vast that many Twitch streamers have been building their brands through TikTok clips to funnel viewers back to their longer-form content.

Per the report, Twitch appears to be stuck in neutral. The platform clocked 4.84 billion hours watched, a 1-2 percent decrease relative to the previous quarter. It still holds ground in gaming, but, overall, Twitch's growth could be interpreted as stagnant. Thanks to its diversity of content, YouTube continues to dominate with a staggering 14.98 billion watch hours in Q1 alone.

Despite slipping to third place, Twitch still belongs to an elite tier of global streaming platforms — one that rivals like Kick and Rumble are nowhere near. The right-leaning upstarts captured just 2.9 percent and 0.5 percent of global watch hours, respectively.