The Promotional Effects of Live Streams by Twitch Influencers

Yufeng Huang () and Ilya Morozov ()
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Yufeng Huang: University of Rochester Simon Business School, Rochester, New York 14627
Ilya Morozov: Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208

Marketing Science, 2025, vol. 44, issue 4, 916-932

Abstract: We study the effect of video game live streaming on the popularity of broadcasted games. To this end, we collect novel high-frequency data from Twitch.tv , a major video game streaming platform, by monitoring live streams of 60,000 popular streamers every 10 minutes for eight months. To estimate the effect of live streaming, we leverage these high-frequency data and isolate plausibly exogenous within-day variation in the broadcast hours of top influencers. We find that the number of people watching a game in live streams increases the concurrent number of people playing it with an elasticity of 0.027, a moderate effect that dissipates within a few hours. Investigating the mechanisms behind live streaming effects, we find evidence that live streams make consumers aware of games by lesser-known publishers and reveal the quality and match value of games to consumers. Our back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest that, despite the general excitement about live stream promotions in this industry, only about one sixth of all games profit from sponsored live streams.

Keywords: live streaming; influencer marketing; video games (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:inm:ormksc:v:44:y:2025:i:4:p:916-932

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