Competition for user acquisition between Naver's Chijijik and SOOP is intensifying in South Korea's live streaming market.
According to Mobile Index on October 21, Chijijik's monthly active users (MAU) reached approximately 4.5 million in September, nearly double SOOP's 2.3 million. The gap between the two platforms widened from about 800,000 users in April to approximately 2.2 million in September.
During the North and Central America World Cup in June, Chijijik's MAU surged to 5.33 million, a 61.6% increase from the previous month, with peak concurrent users reaching around 4.94 million. Following this, Chijijik also outperformed SOOP during the eSports World Cup (EWC) in July and the Asian Games in September.
In contrast, SOOP's MAU remained stable at around 2.3 million from April to September. During the World Cup, SOOP responded without broadcasting rights, focusing instead on commentary and support from popular streamers.
However, retaining users attracted by major sports events is seen as a future challenge. Chijijik's MAU fluctuated significantly, dropping from 5.33 million in June to 3.71 million in August, before rising again to 4.5 million in September due to the Asian Games.
Both platforms are expanding their user engagement by securing a diverse range of streamers alongside sports and eSports broadcasts. During the World Cup, celebrities like the idol group Lissenne participated in Chijijik's 'watch together' feature, enhancing interaction with fans. There are expectations that this could serve as a communication channel similar to Naver's previously operated fan interaction platform, V Live.
A Naver representative stated, "The World Cup provided an opportunity to introduce our services to users who were not familiar with streaming. We anticipate that our content will expand beyond gaming and sports to include everyday communication, celebrity-fan interactions, and virtual streamers."
SOOP is also diversifying its sports offerings and operating its own eSports tournaments. In April, it produced and broadcast all matches of the Asian eSports Championship, and in May, it hosted the domestic qualifiers for the League of Legends (LoL) EWC. In June, SOOP secured exclusive online broadcasting rights for major international events from the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) and is increasing its sports content with events like the Asian Men's and Women's Volleyball Championships in August and September.
A SOOP representative noted, "We are strengthening our content competitiveness through the introduction of a streamer grading system, increased content production funding, and the recruitment of new streamers."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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