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Stream Hatchet
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The platform is a rebranded successor to AfreecaTV. It aims to capture the local market after Twitch's exit.
Launch Date. SOOP, the rebranded successor to AfreecaTV, launched on June 5, 2024.
The launch of SOOP, a South Korean live-streaming platform developed by AfreecaTV, represents a strategic rebranding effort aimed at capturing the local market following the exit of Twitch. By focusing on esports and gaming content, the platform seeks to solidify its position against domestic competitors like the Naver-backed Chzzk. This transition is part of a broader shift in the South Korean streaming landscape, where audiences and creators are migrating between platforms in response to changing service availability.
During its inaugural week in June 2024, SOOP demonstrated significant market traction, generating 24 million hours watched and achieving a peak viewership of 394,000. These figures established the platform as the fourth most-watched live-streaming service globally for that period, notably outperforming Chzzk, which recorded 14.5 million hours watched. Performance metrics indicate that SOOP’s initial viewership represents a 14% increase compared to AfreecaTV’s performance at the end of the first quarter, suggesting a successful retention and migration of the existing user base.
The platform’s early success is largely driven by established creators who transitioned from AfreecaTV and, in some cases, from Twitch earlier in the year. Top-performing content categories include social-focused streams, as well as popular gaming titles such as Minecraft and League of Legends. The presence of high-profile streamers and VTubers who successfully moved their audiences to the new platform underscores the importance of creator loyalty in the current South Korean streaming ecosystem. As the platform matures, its ability to sustain this momentum will depend on its continued appeal to both legacy AfreecaTV users and those displaced by the broader industry consolidation in the region.
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