by Colin Kirkland
Source: www.mediapost.com, February 2023
Twitch competitor Caffeine has increased its monthly active users from three million to 21 million in the past five months. The social broadcasting platform says it is also expanding its lineup of original live content across music, sports, comedy, and dance.
With the global live-streaming market set to reach over $247 billion by 2027, according to Market Research Future, Caffeine is trying to solidify its position as the leading destination for live culture, sports, and music content.
Caffeine says it plans to help content creators and publishers make money around live broadcasting as the company continues to bring new content offerings and monetization tools to the platform.
“We not only want to be the place for live broadcasting culture, sports, and music but the best way to make money doing it too,” says Caffeine CEO Ben Keighran. “This is social broadcasting and it’s the future of live sports and entertainment.”
Starting on Thursday, Caffeine users can watch new original content from flagship partners including Ultimate Rap League, BallisLife, The Comedy Press, and more.
BallisLife, the leading streetball creator on YouTube with 3.64 million subscribers, made Caffeine their live-streaming home in 2022 and has announced new content to the platform, featuring big-name basketball influencers participating in the “King of the Court” series.
Caffeine is also announcing a new Categories filter to connect fans with specific content like BallisLife, as well as an option for fans to react via podcasts, pre-shows, post-shows, and their own variety streams with monetization features.
The company says it wants new creators to make money without having to join a partner program.
Founded in 2016, Caffeine is backed by studio partners, investors and media companies including a16z, Greylock, Fox, Disney, Cox, Sanabil, and Riot, having raised a total of $250 million to date.
