Over the last two years, Twitch, an interactive streaming platform, began to see massive growth in its user base.
However, things are beginning to change, as several key metrics are starting to return to their pre-pandemic levels.
Twitch had one of its worst months in over two years in November 2022, as the average number of viewers and total hours watched on the platform declined to their lowest levels in over two years.
According to data compiled by Stream Charts, the average number of Twitch viewers fell to their lowest mark since October 2020. Meanwhile, the total hours watched on the platform hit marks that haven’t been seen since September of that same year.
With Twitch users and viewership on the decline, is the live streaming platform’s days of exponential growth coming to an end?
Twitch Monthly Average Viewers Drop To Lowest Level Since October 2022
Twitch has experienced rapid user growth over the last two years.
Beginning in August 2020, the streaming platform experienced seven consecutive months of positive growth, increasing its monthly average viewers from 2.09 million in July 2020 to 2.94 million in February 2021.
Growth has continued since but the company’s recent ban on online gambling sites seems to have had a negative impact on the platform.
According to Stream Charts, Twitch watched its monthly average viewers drop from 2,515,356 in October 2022 to just 2,410,718 in November.
The four percent decline dipped the average number of Twitch viewers to its lowest total since October 2020.
Active Channels and Hours Watched Also Decline
Twitch announced that it would ban online gambling on sites that were not regulated in the US on September 20 but did not begin enforcing new policy guidelines until October 18, 2022.
The move seems to have rubbed users the wrong way. After three consecutive months of massive growth the number of active channels peaked at 5.04 million in August 2022.
However, since the announcement in September, the number of active channels has dropped by 11 percent.
The total number of hours watched on the platform has dropped too.
In November, Twitch users watched a total of 1.732 billion hours of content, a whopping seven percent drop from the 1.858 billion hours of content watched in October, before the ban came into effect.
Is Twitch’s Growth Coming To An End?
Online gambling wasn’t the only reason that Twitch became the popular live streaming service in the world.
While the ban has affected user growth in recent months, there are signs that the platform is still alive and thriving.
The peak number of viewers increased by 15 percent in November 2022 up to 5.31 million.
Just five days into the month of December, the peak number of active channels also reached over 200,000 for the first time since December 2021.
So, while the live streaming platform is down in some key metrics, Twitch appears to still have plenty of room left to grow.
