In 2023, livestreaming was one part of a wider creator format mix—not a single format taking over. YouTube described creators combining live, short-form, long-form and podcast content; a creator-economy survey found YouTube was the most frequently named destination in its livestream-viewing question; and a German market monitor documented Twitch’s prominence by channel count in its own analysis. These findings measure different things, so they point to distinct trends rather than one universal platform winner.
What were the main live streaming trends for creators in 2023?
- Creators worked across formats. YouTube’s 2023 Culture & Trends report described storytelling extending beyond long-form video to short-form, livestreams and podcasts.
- Platform preferences depended on the measure. In a 2023 survey, YouTube led respondents’ stated usual destination for creator and influencer livestreams, but that result is not global market share.
- Live was not limited to gaming. Twitch’s 2023 engineering post described streams spanning gaming, chatting, music and cooking, with community interaction central to its framing of the experience.
- One German analysis reported more live output and production investment. The Online-Video-Monitor 2023 described a trend toward more livestreams and higher-quality or more expensive production, and found Twitch dominant by channel count within its defined comparison.
- Cross-format distribution was part of the outlook. YouTube’s January 2023 creator-economy outlook discussed connected-TV viewing and long-form video working alongside Shorts.
How did creators’ formats fit together?
YouTube’s Culture & Trends report said 87% of people surveyed had watched at least four YouTube content formats in the previous 12 months. That finding supports the idea of format variety on YouTube; it is not a livestream-specific audience figure and does not establish that every creator benefits from publishing in multiple formats.
YouTube’s January 2023 outlook also cited 1.5 billion monthly logged-in Shorts viewers in the prior year. That number describes Shorts viewers, not livestream viewers. Taken together, the two YouTube publications show why creators were considering live alongside short and long video, podcasts and viewing on connected TVs—not that one format displaced the others.
Which platforms did viewers name for creator livestreams?
The Influencer Marketing Factory’s 2023 Creator Economy Report asked: “Where do you usually watch livestreams by content creators/influencers?” Its reported survey responses were:
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| Platform named | Share of reported responses |
|---|---|
| YouTube | 25.0% |
| TikTok | 18.7% |
| 17.4% | |
| 14.0% | |
| Twitch | 8.6% |
| 6.5% | |
| Snapchat | 6.0% |
| 3.2% | |
| Other | 0.6% |
These are survey response shares for that question, not platform audience totals or market shares. The report chart does not provide enough sample and methodology detail to establish that the responses represent all viewers or creators. YouTube ranked first in this particular measure; that alone does not establish it as the best platform for every creator.
What did Twitch and the German monitor add?
Live content and community on Twitch
Twitch’s 2023 engineering post characterized the platform’s live activity as extending across gaming, chatting, music and cooking, and emphasized interactive communities. This is Twitch’s own description of its priorities and environment, rather than an independent measurement of all livestreaming.
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A country-specific channel-count finding
The Landesanstalt für Kommunikation Baden-Württemberg’s Online-Video-Monitor 2023 reported that Twitch accounted for 93% of live-streaming channels among Twitch, YouTube and Facebook Gaming in its German analysis. This is a channel-count measure in that analysis—not a global figure, a measure of audience share, or a direct comparison with the survey responses above. The monitor also reported a trend toward more livestreams and higher-quality or more expensive production.
What can creators take from the 2023 evidence?
- Choose platforms for the audience and format you serve. The survey records where respondents usually watched creator livestreams, while Twitch’s post describes its own community-centered live environment. Neither establishes one platform as the universal choice.
- Treat live as one part of a publishing mix. YouTube’s reports document format breadth and cross-format context, but do not show that adding formats causes growth for every channel.
- Keep geography and measurement attached to any comparison. The German monitor counted channels in a particular market analysis; the Influencer Marketing Factory reported survey answers. Those figures cannot be combined into a single ranking.
- Do not read adjacent format numbers as livestream metrics. YouTube’s 87% figure concerns viewing four or more formats, and its 1.5 billion figure concerns Shorts viewers.
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