HOW LIVE STREAMING IS GOING TO CHANGE INTERNET

& CONTENT DELIVERY

A DISSERTATION PROPOSAL SUBMITTED

TO MICA, AHMEDABAD FOR THE PARTIAL
FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS
OF PGDM-C

​Submitted by
AHRAZ AHMAD
[20190126115]

Under the guidance of

Prof. Subrat Sarangi

October, 2020
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Topics Page No.

Introduction 2
Research Objectives and Questions 3
Literature Review 4
Proposed Research Methodology 7
Plan of Analysis 8
References 9

1
Introduction
Consumers are demanding for a world where there should be everything available at the press of

a button. Although music streaming apps such as “Spotify”, “Apple Music” and “Prime Music”

are able to deliver this, video streaming services such as Netflix, Prime Video, YouTube and

Twitch have been struggling. Affectionately referred to as “​bandwidth hogs​” by service and

network providers, all platforms are re-orienting their streaming service as per the country or

regions’ ISPs networks and constraints. [Alexander, J. (2020, March 27)]

With the pandemic looming over all, populations have begun to find solace on the internet.

During these unprecedented times, Amazon’s streaming service “Twitch” has seen a 31% growth

in subscription with the amount of hours watched increasing from ​33 Mn on 8th March, 2020 to

43 Mn on 22nd March, 2020 according to latest data reported by research firm ​StreamElements​.

YouTube Gaming Streams, within the same period, also saw an increase of 15% within 1 week.

This signifies a moment and an opportunity for streaming services such as YouTube and Twitch

to become mainstream entertainment providers on the internet, trumping the likes of

conventional OTT platforms such as Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Hotstar, Zee5 and Amazon Prime

video. According to data reported by StreamElements, in collaboration with Arsenal.gg,

viewership on Twitch increased by 66% in the first week of lockdown being imposed in Italy.

Apart from viewership, the platform has also seen an increase in channel size and number of

channels being watched. [Stephen, B. (2020, March 18)]

This may be considered as the moment for any brand, small or large, to enter the business of live

streaming. The barriers to entry are low with a relatively easy learning curve. And, one will

never know what is right and what is not until it is tried.

2
Research Objectives and Questions

The aim of this paper is to understand what is driving the consumption of Live Streaming. This

has to be accomplished while analyzing the Live Streaming individually and while comparing

the same with OTT Players. The paper will deep dive into finding the consumption patterns of

Live Streaming on all parameters of streaming - Audio, Video as well as Gaming.

Live Streaming presents itself as a unique platform for marketing too and thus is a lucrative

opportunity for brands looking to tap audiences subscribed to the streamers. The captive

audience possessed by streamers, who pay to watch, and often who bring others with them too.

The digital age presents significant utilitarian benefits to the society and will be tantamount to

further grant freedom of expression to creators and curators. Live Streaming has also allowed

content to be delivered through new age mediums such as mobiles and tablets instead of the

traditional channels. It grants flexibility and increases the ease-of-access manifold for all viewers

across the world.

Platforms such as Twitch allow creators to be able to regulate audiences by giving the option to

charge for viewing and purchasing memberships. This is a steady source of revenue for creators.

However, with advertisements and sponsorships on the rise, consumers may begin to face the

brunt of this. Consumers may have to be prepared for ad breaks in the middle of streams, product

placements and the creators themselves promoting certain brands or services. While it may be a

rain on the parade, it is a tremendous opportunity for brands to be able to leverage the platforms

at a time when most brands have not even acknowledged the existence of it.

With the help of this paper, the following aspects of Audio, Video and Gaming related streaming

are to be analysed:

● Study consumption behaviours

3
 ● Factors influencing consumption

● Comparison of platforms

Along with the aforementioned parameters, the paper will also look into identifying what

motivates each stakeholder in terms of:

● Viewership motivation

● Hours spent on consumption

● Loyalty Factor

The research will stand to incorporate the target companies within its scope in order to determine

the offering and differentiation of each platform while also shedding light on the heterogeneity of

audience on each platform.

Literature Review

The size of the Live Streaming industry and the scope of the same can be easily established using

multiple studies available. One can also observe the growth expected of the industry, across

parameters, for content creators, organisers, consumers and brands looking to capitalise on the

same through the sentiment that has been showcased.

Thus, Live Streaming can be seen as a lucrative medium of providing entertainment to end

consumers. Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, Live Streaming can be predicted to show even

stronger growth across the globe, primarily due to the simpler learning curve required and due to

the curation being light on logistics.

Live Content, by definition, cannot be staged or reshot. The base for its popularity is it

happening in the moment and the authenticity of it. Additionally, it being an open-for-all

platform, the creators can directly reach consumers and vice versa. The barriers to entry are low

4
too for curators as well as creators. From an execution standpoint, it requires relatively low

technical knowledge as well as capital investment, compared to mainstream productions.

However, the researches presently available and explored do not delve into how a

pre-existing/established brand may leverage the platform of Streaming/ Live Streaming and

establish itself. Thus, a gap that can be identified from preliminary research is a methodology of

how a brand may be established on platforms such as Twitch and YouTube and, by extension,

Facebook as well as Instagram Live, to promote itself and reach out to a wider audience that

prefers content live.

It can also be observed that studied literature does not incorporate the viewpoint of the

stakeholders involved in the process particularly creators and consumers. Therefore, going

forward, the research will imperatively contain a period to also include the reaching out to these

stakeholders in order to determine their position and contribution to the equation. The activity

will allow a more comprehensive evaluation of the industry and arrive at a more accurate

conclusion. Involvement of stakeholders may also lead to further discovery of areas that have not

been researched and not identified as a gap either yet.

An analysis of the US Audio Streaming industry shows that the annual revenue grew by 14.5

times over a half-decade period [Thomes, 2011] and spoke of the monetisation models available

for audio streaming services. The biggest player in the market, Spotify has 286 million Monthly

Active Users with 130 million paid subscribers but is yet to return a profit [Live, 2020].

However, with advertisers and investors pumping money, the business will be able to sustain the

projected loss of $100 million in 2020. Yet, today, Spotify has over 500,000 podcasts hosted on

it and stands as one of the most popular platforms for podcasts. Stephen Fry and Daniel Radcliffe

5
even featured on the platform, during COVID-19 lockdown, to deliver weekly readings of the

Harry Potter books.

Song Streaming platforms are being seen as an attempt to become, “celestial jukebox” [Marshall,

2012] as they embark on paths to have all labels available under the same umbrella. However, it

does not essentially classify as Live Streaming. Podcasts, on the other hand, do classify and are

being acknowledged as the same too. With Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Anchor

and multiple others foraying into the market, titles such as the Joe Rogan Podcast have become

popular for consumption, getting the platforms into a bidding war for exclusivity.

At the same time, one has to look at sports as the biggest source for Live Streaming.

Additionally, with the advent of e-Sports, Live Streaming has seen a further uptick. According to

Banyai et. al. (2019), “Playing video games has become one of the most popular recreational

activities, not just among children and adolescents, but also among adults too” and has seen it

even become a career option for many in the form of competitive gaming. Competitive Gaming,

also known as e-Sports, is starting to become one of the most popular and essential parts of video

game communities in Live Stream networks. With audiences logging in to watch games live and

full-fledged tournaments being held, e-Sports economy was reported at $696 million in 2017 and

expected to double by end of 2020, according to a market report by Newzoo. The report also

stated that the global e-Sports audience had reached 385 million, with 32% both playing as well

as watching streams. [Banyai, F., 2018]

6
Research Methodology

The proposed research methodology to complete the research project would involve a mixed

approach since qualitative research as well as quantitative research is required to generate

insights for the required gaps.

Quantitative research, in secondary aspect, will be employed in order to assess the size and

growth potential of the industry, current curators’ operations and marketing opportunities within

the given network. From a marketing perspective, Live Streaming, compared to other

mainstream media options, is largely untapped. Thus, it presents itself as an extremely lucrative

opportunity for brands who look to target the audience that subscribes to Live Streaming.

Qualitative research, in the form of in-depth interviews, will be conducted to gain insights into

the functioning of streamers and other content creators. Research will have to extend to

consumers of Live Streaming content too, in order to understand the preferences in terms of

content, programming and platforms. Qualitative research will have to include exploration into

researching platforms as each platform has different interfaces and key strengths, thereby acting

as a selective preference.

Given the context, research will be primarily focused on unstructured data, to be sourced through

multiple interactions with a variety of stakeholders. Research will also incorporate the

functioning of auxiliary and supporting industries of Live Streaming, keeping in mind the

scenario brought around by the novel coronavirus along with the shift in consumption patterns

witnessed in age groups 10-35 i.e Gen Z as well as Millennials.

The phenomenon of operationalisation will also have to be taken into account and require

guidance in order to convert into empirical observations to consider a broader aspect of research

and thereby increase the veracity of the information being provided by the purpose of the paper.

7
Latent information may need to be identified by means of distinguishable effects showcased by

the parameters thereby allowing it to be ascertained, if not measured.

The data collected will have to be organised in a manner to be able to run a regression or cluster

analysis on the same. However, Demand Projection of Live Streaming will have to be done using

a model to be developed.

Plan of Analysis

As part of the research project, the objective will be to look at the rise of Live Streaming and

explore its platforms, the stakeholders involved, in order to understand the requirements and

expectations and to draw parallels as well as specify key differences between the primary and

auxiliary platforms for Live Streaming. This would further be used to supplement how a brand

can proceed to build itself within the sector/industry and reorient its current positioning to fit

within the Live Streaming ecosystem.

8
References

1. Alexander, J. (2020, March 27). The entire world is streaming more than ever - and it's

straining the internet.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/27/21195358/streaming-netflix-disney-hbo-now-youtu

be-twitch-amazon-prime-video-coronavirus-broadband-network

2. Bányai, F., Griffiths, M. D., Király, O., & Demetrovics, Z. (2018). The psychology of

esports: A systematic literature review. ​Journal of Gambling Studies,​ ​35​(2), 351-365.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-018-9763-1

3. Marshall, R. (2012). Oh mercy: How on-demand interactive streaming services navigate

the digital music rights licensing landscape. ​SSRN Electronic Journal.​ ​Marshall, Rick, Oh

http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2179111

4. Spotify conquered the music industry, but still can't make a profit. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.lovemoney.com/gallerylist/82445/spotify-conquered-music-industry-no-prof

it-streaming

5. Stephen, B. (2020, March 18). This is Twitch's moment.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/18/21185114/twitch-youtube-livestreaming-streamele

6. Thomes, T. P. (2011). An economic analysis of online streaming: How the music

industry can generate revenues from cloud computing. ​SSRN Electronic Journal​.

http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1866228