Tencent-backed short video app Kuaishou has announced that more than 100 million users are watching every day live streaming shows on its platform, according to a report shared by the firm via its Weibo account.
Kuaishou, which has gathered around 200 million daily active users (DAUs) as of May 2019, and is seeking to hit 300 million before the 2020 Chinese New Year, said that the three top live-streamed categories on its platform are broadcasters’ daily activities, singing shows, and Chinese opera performances.
The firm also informed that retailers on its platform are the most obsessed with the live streaming feature. Users who sell goods on Kuaishou spend on average more than 580 minutes every day live-streaming content, reaching an average count of over 39,000 “likes.”
In the gaming-centric live streaming sector, Kuaishou claimed to have 51 million DAUs, outpacing major streaming platforms Huya and Douyu, which reported 11 million and 15 million DAUs as of June, respectively. More than 88% of all the game streamers are post-90s, said Kuaishou, adding that male streamers accounted for 85% of the total number.
The live streaming business is Kuaishou’s main revenue source, contributing 90% of the firm’s total RMB 22 billion annual revenue in 2018, local media reported. In contrast, Kuaishou’s main rival short-video app Douyin, operated by ByteDance, snagged RMB 20 billion in the same time period, but mainly from ads. Douyin hit 320 million DAUs as of June.
At the beginning of December, Kuaishou reportedly secured USD 3 billion in its latest pre-IPO round fundraising, in which its longtime investor Tencent poured USD 2 billion, valuing the firm at roughly USD 28.6 billion, KrASIA reported.
To achieve the 300 million DAUs mark before the 2020 Chinese Lunar New Year, the company has won an exclusive deal with China Media Group on the 2020 annual New Year’s Gala, which is considered to be a key marketing opportunity for Chinese tech companies, KrASIA reported.