Streaming Viewership Falls for Five Quarters in a Row with 7.27B Hours Watched in Q3, an 11% Drop YOY

After a record-breaking 2020 and 2021, live streaming viewership continued falling for the fifth quarter in a row.

According to data presented by Sports Lens, gamers and eSports fans spent 7.27 billion hours watching gaming titles on streaming platforms in Q3 2022, 11% less than in the same period a year ago.

Almost One Billion Hours Drop in a Year

Live streaming viewership seems to be fading away across all markets and platforms. In 2020, when lockdown rules and COVID-19 restrictions made live broadcasts even more attractive to millions of people, Twitch, YouTube Gaming Live, and Facebook Gaming hit 28.7 billion hours watched, 81% more than before the pandemic. Last year saw a 21% growth, with 34.6 billion hours watched on the three streaming platforms.

Still, the Stream Hatchet data show the total number of hours watched started dropping in the third quarter of 2021 and has remained so ever since. In Q1 2022, gamers and eSports fans spent 8.06 billion hours watching gaming titles on streaming platforms, down from 8.77 billion in the same quarter a year ago.

The live streaming viewership continued falling between April and June, with 7.36 billion hours watched in three months. By Q3 2022, the total number of hours watched on the top three streaming platforms slipped to 7.27 billion, showing almost a one billion hour drop year-over-year.

Facebook Gaming Viewership at the Lowest Point in Two Years

Focused on broadcasting shows and sports content, Twitch led the audience in live broadcasts, with 5.71 billion hours or nearly 80% of total hours watched in Q3 2022. However, the streaming giant has witnessed a slight viewership drop, compared to 5.79 billion hours watched in the same quarter a year ago.

YouTube Gaming Live saw the total number of hours increase by 4% year-over-year, rising from 1.13 billion in Q3 2021 to 1.17 billion in Q3 2022.

Unlike the two leading streaming platforms, Facebook Gaming has seen its viewership plunge this year. The Stream Hatchet data show the Facebook Gaming audience is at the lowest point in two years, with 382 million hours watched in Q3 2022, showing a 70% plunge YoY from 1.3 billion hours in Q3 2021.