Does Mixer Have a Hope of Ever Competing with YouTube and Twitch?
At present, the streaming ecosystem is relatively bereft of competition when it comes to platforms. Twitch is far and away the dominant streaming platform of choice, with YouTube in a distant second. Far below even YouTube Live’s figures is Mixer, long-relegated to third place. However, while it may be much smaller, the popularity of the Mixer streaming service is rising rapidly. With the announcement that Ninja, one of the top streamers currently in the industry, will now stream exclusively on Mixer, is there a chance that Mixer’s fortunes could start to rise even faster?
Mixer’s Current Place in the Streaming Ecosystem
Quarterly reports produced by StreamLabs clearly show just how lacking for competition the streaming industry is. However, their latest report also showed an interesting trend; an actual decline in Twitch’s viewing figures (the first in almost a year of growth). Although Mixer’s figures are, of course, on a whole other level, the platform enjoyed dramatic growth in the same period. Indeed, Mixer’s growth has been massive; year over year, their hours watched figure has risen by 357%. Its last quarter in particular saw a rise of around 50%; its best-performing quarter in the last year after a period of decline during 2018. So, what is Mixer and what is the likelihood of it threatening its competitors?
Unfortunately for the site, the last quarter was also the first time that streaming service DLive released their own figures. As a result, it was revealed that DLive has actually overtaken Mixer to claim its third-place spot. Interestingly, however, the two platforms will now be in very similar positions when it comes to the strategies used to draw their audience. DLive’s success can be largely attributed to PewDiePie, who uses DLive as his exclusive streaming platform. Mixer now seems to be emulating that strategy in their deal with Ninja.
So, What is Likely to Happen to Mixer in the Future?
Of course, Mixer is in no position currently to pose a serious threat to either YouTube or Twitch. (Nor is it likely to in the near future.) However, things do look good for the platform going forward. Ninja’s exclusivity deal is extremely likely to boost Mixer’s numbers in the next quarter, possibly enough to challenge DLive for the #3 spot. However, the platform could just be gearing up for a larger presence in 2020. After all, Mixer is Microsoft’s own streaming service. With Project Scarlett almost guaranteed to include greater streaming integration than previous console generations, it’s likely that Microsoft will be putting Mixer centre-stage. This deal with Ninja now could well be an effort to boost Mixer’s popularity and reach ahead of that eventual attempt at expansion.
For now, streaming fans will have to see how the rest of 2019 goes for Mixer. Twitch has seen a small decline in recent months, and other platforms stand to gain if it bleeds viewers. Mixer may not be in the same league as YouTube or Twitch now, but who knows? Perhaps recent events could herald a rise to greater prominence for the platform in the years to come…