State of the Stream December 2022: Upward Trend vs Pre-COVID

It’s been two years since the onset of the pandemic and the live streaming industry is still standing. In December 2022, streaming numbers have reached record highs, and here’s a look at some of the exciting figures the industry is celebrating right now.

The Good News: Spectacular Growth

• Viewership is at an all-time high. Streaming services such as Twitch, Mixer, and YouTube Gaming routinely break records every month, gathering more and more fans as they go. In December 2022, viewership is estimated to reach 1.2 billion unique viewers.
• Content is being viewed for longer. Not only are viewers tuning in more often, they’re watching for longer. The average streaming session length has grown to 2.5 hours, up from a 1.5-hour baseline before the pandemic.
• The money just keeps rolling in. And it looks like it’s here to stay. A record-high 80 million dollars was earned from streaming in December 2022, with a huge chunk of that coming from ad revenues.

The Bad News: Still Far from Pre-COVID Levels

As staggering as the numbers are, the good news can’t conceal the fact that the streaming industry is still far from where it was before the pandemic.

• Streaming numbers still far below 2019 levels. Despite the growth, the numbers still pale in comparison to the estimated 2.6 billion unique viewers streaming platforms were hosting in 2019.
• Ad revenues dropping again. It seems the massive spike in income has been short-lived, as ad revenues were reported to have dropped by 10% in December.
• No improvement among smaller creators. Despite the big success of superstars and popular streamers, mid-sized or smaller content creators have seen little to no improvement in numbers or ad revenue.

The Final Verdict is Positive

At the end of the day, the streaming industry has survived and continues to thrive. Despite minor hiccups in ad revenue, viewership continues to steadily rise and there’s more optimism than ever that streaming will become a major player on the global entertainment stage.

Here’s hoping that streaming will hit the pre-COVID levels of 2019 and beyond sooner rather than later!

Cheers, and may the Stream be with you!