Twitch viewership doubled during lockdown to more than 6 billion hours.
As well as seeing zombie battles or car chases as people played computer games – the traditional market for Twitchers – they tuned in watch people sit in front of their webcams and talk.
Video game live streaming may be the future of entertainment but, three years ago, Twitch spun off the talk-only feature into “Just Chatting” and once covid-19 struck, the category exploded, according to Quartz. And audio more broadly has reaped the benefits.
Audio-only startup Clubhouse said it had raised yet another, undisclosed-size round of funding over the weekend.
The Information reported Clubhouse reached a $4bn valuation three months after a round valuing it at $1bn.
It came even as larger social media players look to copy its model. Social network Facebook said it would allow users to post short-form audio clips called “soundbites”, host live audio rooms (as Clubhouse does), and discover podcasts through the Facebook platform, while tech company Apple has unveiled a subscription podcast service and Spotify is set to announce one next month.
But while there is excitement around audio and chat, the heavy content creation has been in video, despite the implosion at short-form content creator Quibi in October after raising $1.75bn in the prior two years.
Other content companies, such as Patreon and Masterclass, have also raised big rounds. But the potential comes when the content drives a marketplace that forms around it.
Come for the cat video or chat and stay long enough to buy something has long been the strategy for media.
Corporate backed deals in video and audio content
