Hello, everyone! This is Screena. Today, I'll share the third part of the development diary for the "Twitch Watch Party" feature created by Screena. I'll explain why and how Screena developed the Twitch Watch Party feature, along with the challenges faced along the way. If you're curious about the previous stories, check them out!
Twitch Watch Party: Who’s Using It?
After confirming that there was a greater demand for "Watch Parties" than timers, the development team immediately started working on implementing the sync feature. The business team became curious about markets outside of Korea as well. They knew that simultaneous viewing cultures were already thriving in Japan, and they had heard that watch parties were also popular in Taiwan. We wanted to find out more details about the level of activity and determine if there were any existing competitors in those regions.
Watch Parties in Japan
First, let's talk about Japan! We diligently used translation tools to search for information. We found that many people in Japan were already enjoying watch parties under the name of "Simultaneous Viewing." Here are a few noteworthy findings:
YouTube in Japan '同時視聴(Watch Party)'
Vtubers: The ratio of watch parties hosted by virtual YouTubers (Vtubers) was higher than those hosted by real streamers. While there were many watch parties for movies and dramas, the "animation" genre stood out prominently.
YouTube rather than Twitch: Although watch parties were happening on Twitch as well, the YouTube market is still stronger. There were fewer than 5 instances on Twitch, while YouTube had 2-30 instances when searching specific keywords during weekday evenings, indicating a noticeable difference in broadcasting volume. However, it is worth mentioning that many Vtubers are also transitioning to Twitch nowadays.
What about in Taiwan?
Taiwan had a different vibe when it came to watch parties compared to Japan.
First of all, YouTube is much more advanced than Twitch. It was remarkable to see that a majority of content creators, around half or more, conducted watch parties through YouTube's live streaming platform, while also receiving donations. It was also impressive to see discussions about what to watch together next week or acceptance of votes via email. (In Korea, we use roulette or accept votes through online communities, though.) Additionally, there were a lot of YouTube live reservations already, so it felt like watching a movie club!
YouTube in Taiwan '同時視聴(Watch Party)'
Another interesting aspect is the preference for movies. While Japan overwhelmingly leaned towards anime, the watch parties in Taiwan covered a wide range of popular films, including horror movies and Wes Anderson films. One of the most recent examples was a Vtuber who watched episode of SEVENTEEN on the Channel 15ya by PD Na.
Indeed, K-pop is the best! That's all for now, I'll introduce the watch party tools used in overseas markets in out upcoming session. Stay tuned!