[Twitch. Photo Credit: Pixabay]

On the 6th, Twitch, the world’s largest internet streaming platform, announced that it would shut down its operation in South Korea as of 27th February 2024.

Koreans will still be able to access Twitch, excluding its paid content; accordingly, streamers will not be allowed to profit in any form starting from the set date.

After its launch in June 2011, Twitch experienced rapid growth and became the single most popular online streaming platform.

In 2015, it had more than 100 million viewers per month.

Many seem surprised at their decision to halt their services in Korea, as the country was responsible for approximately 5% of their total traffic by October 2023.

In an official post for its users, the platform has revealed that “the cost to operate in Korea is prohibitively expensive” and that, after multiple attempts to resolve the situation, they have concluded that “there is no pathway forward for [their] business to run more sustainably.”

Similar concerns regarding Korea’s network fee were spotlighted in September 2022 when Twitch limited the maximum source resolution in Korea to 720p60 from the previous number of 1080.

After a law mandating the payment of network fees was passed in the Korean Congress in the same month, many have cast doubt on the unnecessarily high numbers applied to foreign corporations.

Due to Non-Disclosure Agreements with Korea’s network operators, Twitch is yet to release the exact amount of money they paid, but their disclosed yearly traffic allows for an estimation of about 90 billion won.

Korea’s three network giants - SKT, KT, and LG U+, claimed that their policy towards foreign corporations was not as draconic as described by Twitch, but many Koreans seem to be on the streaming platform’s side for now.

Following the announcement, discourse surrounding possible alternatives quickly became a central issue addressed by many consumers.

YouTube, the biggest online video platform in the world, is considered the most suitable option as of now due to its popularity and accessibility.

Many Twitch streamers already upload edited versions of their live streams on YouTube, and would therefore find the transition a relatively simple job.

Fundamental limitations of the platform, however, may be a possible disadvantage for both the streamers and viewers alike - as live streaming is significantly less popular compared to edited videos.

Other options include Korean platforms AfreecaTV and CHZZK; the former has been consistently competitive in the scene ever since its entry in 2006, and the latter is set to release in 2024 by Naver, Korea’s biggest search engine.

Similar to YouTube, though, they still face limitations.

AfreecaTV has been facing criticism after Kevin Seo, their former CEO, claimed that Twitch is simply making deficits in the Korean markets and ultimately “lost” to AfreecaTV with other streamers on his platform.

Combined with past controversies surrounding the platform, many current Twitch viewers seem to be against a possible migration to AfreecaTV.

CHZZK, Naver’s ambitious initiative to expand their business to the live streaming sector, has been generally successful and proven a viable alternative in their beta service earlier this month, but still seems to have room for improvement.

No matter what happens after Twitch officially pulls out in February, the viewers will be the most affected; the unique decision to abandon the Korean market signals that similar events may occur in other industries.