Facebook Gaming has overtaken YouTube Gaming for the hours watched in Q3, making it the only platform to see an increase in hours viewed during the quarter.
However, Twitch retains the lion share in terms of total hours watched according to new research from StreamLabs.
Part of this can be attributed to Facebook continuously extending its platform.
For example, Facebook recently added co-streaming to let users game together.
At the same time, the network has boosted its protection for streamers using copyrighted music by adding Level Up creators.
Viewers watched a total 1.29 billion hours of content on Facebook Gaming, a 9% rise from Q2.
Facebook Gaming experienced a 59% rise in hours watched and the company now accounts for 14% of market share.
Live streamers are broadcasting some 17 million hours of content on the platform, up 18% from Q2 across its 440,000 unique channels.
In contrast, YouTube relies more heavily on professional content where Facebook focusses on user-generated video.
eSports are among the most watched channels on YouTube. However, the number of viewers decreased 13% from Q2 to 1.13 billion hours.
On Twitch total hours watched were 5.79 billion, which means the app holds a 70% slice of the pie. However, the app saw a 11% drop in hours viewed from Q2 and an 8% drop in hours streamed year-on-year.
It remains to be seen if over the coming months Facebook can grow its market share in the segment.
The post Facebook Gaming overtakes YouTube for hours watched appeared first on Business of Apps.
source https://www.businessofapps.com/news/facebook-gaming-overtakes-youtube-for-hours-watched/
