Microsoft made a big splash when it got Fortnite star Tyler “Ninja” Blevins to leave Twitch and exclusively stream on Mixer, but Ninja’s move hasn’t really helped Mixer gain viewership.
Ninja’s exclusive deal with Mixer has been in place since August, and he has had a strong start streaming on the platform. Despite that, according to a report by Streamlabs, hours watched on Mixer have fallen for over 10% since the end of June, just before Ninja’s move.
Twitch’s share of hours watched grew by 3.4% during the third quarter, according to StreamElements’ data. The platform now has a 75.6% share of total hours, and is followed by YouTube’s 17.6%, and Facebook Gaming’s 3.7%. The platform with the lowest share is Mixer at 3.2%. Mixer was in last place among those four at the end of the last quarter as well.
This means that over the last quarter, Twitch’s market share has increased by more than Mixer’s total market share. Though nobody reasonably expected Ninja to immediately transform Mixer into a true competitor to Twitch, this shows just how far Mixer has left to go.
Even though all the platforms are experiencing a seasonal decline in viewership as summer comes to an end, Twitch is growing its lead over the competition.
Ninja’s move to Mixer pays off in other ways
Ninja may not have brought many viewers to Mixer, but he seems to have attracted a lot of streamers. Data shows total hours streamed on Mixer have increased by over 180% since Ninja’s move, and tripled from the start of 2019.
Mixer’s plans to cut into Twitch’s market share remains in its infancy, but attracting more streamers to the platform is hugely important for the site. Only time will tell if this will translate into the millions of users that Mixer needs to start truly challenging Twitch, though.
