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Night Light | Move Over Jimmy Fallon

Night Light | Move Over Jimmy Fallon

Streaming is Becoming the New Talk Show

The other day, I was watching Kai Cenat’s stream with Druski, and it really put into perspective how much live streaming has changed in the last few years. Creators used to stream 10+ hours a day, 7 days a week. Now, the biggest streamers on Twitch, Kick, and YouTube are putting more focus on quality streams and collaborating with big guests.

These aren’t small or unknown celebrities either.

It’s almost like live streams are becoming the new talk show.

Quality Over Quantity

Kai doesn’t need to be live 70 hours a week anymore. In the last 90 days, he’s streamed 46 times (about every other day). Sure, there are some unique cases where he streamed 10+ hours, but for the most part, streams are usually around 5 hours. Every time I watch his stream, it feels like a variety show. I’m not surprised that he’s constantly collaborating with huge mainstream rappers.

Sketch and Jynxzi entertain thousands with their 20v1 dating stream.

It’s not just Kai; Jynxzi has also taken off in the last year (currently the #3 streamer in 2024). On average, he’s live for 4 hours, a big difference from the 12 hour average we’d see from streamers like xQc this time last year. He does stream a lot of Rainbow Six Siege (good aim), but I’m seeing more and more Just Chatting and special events from him in the last month.

Streaming a Variety of Content is on the Rise

Think back to live streaming in 2018; it was mostly streamers that only played video games. If you scrolled through the top 10 biggest channels back then, the majority of them were either playing a single game (Ninja dominated Fortnite) or playing a handful of popular games. People watched streamers because they were good at the game.

Ninja was streaming only Fortnite and Realm Royale, this was typical for the time.

Looking through the top 10 streamers in 2024, it’s clear that there’s a much wider variety of content. One day Sketch and Jynxzi are putting on a dating show, the next day they’re out golfing on their YouTube channel.

Just Chatting and special events make up a large portion of Jynxzi’s schedule nowadays.

Creators today have a wider content offering. Kai, Jynxzi, and Caseoh are all younger than 25 too. I’m seeing a changing of the guard on Twitch right now where creators that probably grew up watching the big streamers in 2018 are now creating on the platform themselves. It feels different than when Myth and Tfue were the new young streamers.

We’ve seen a whole new generation emerge as the biggest Twitch demographic
Source: Information Marketing Hub

Live Streams Look Like Talk Shows

The more I watch the top 1% of streamers, the more their streams are starting to look like the modern-day talk shows. Adin Ross has a history of having rappers on stream like Playboi Carti, Drake, and 21 Savage. It’s not just rappers; mainstream celebrities and athletes are reaching out to use their audience to their advantage. The biggest streamers in the world are arguably just as popular as the biggest celebrities in the world. Streamers in 2018 used to be looked down upon (some even called them cringe).

21 Savage on Adin’s stream last month.

Adin Ross and Kai have been getting the top of the top talent on their streams. Not everyone is going to get Drake on their stream, but I think the door is wide open for mid-level streamers to get smaller celebrities on their stream.

The Big Takeaway:

Live streaming is starting to look like the talk shows that we used to watch on TV. Younger streamers are entering the space, focusing more on entertaining content and less on 10 hour streams. We’re also seeing more variety from the top streamers than we ever have before. There’s never been a better time as a mid-level creator to start working with smaller celebrities.