Official Version Launch on the 9th of Next Month... Short-Form Content and More to Be Introduced
Highest Viewership This Month Up 14.5%
Streaming platform Naver Chijijik, which is set to officially launch on the 9th of next month, has decided to add short-form videos. This move aims to showcase a highly attention-grabbing service early on to secure viewers ahead of the official launch.
According to industry sources on the 16th, Chijijik plans to include the trending short-form content in its official version. Not only ordinary users and popular streamers but also celebrities are participating in short-form video production. The company believes that interest in Chijijik will increase once the service begins.
Real-time product promotion and sales through e-commerce and live commerce are also expected to be offered. Since live commerce is based on communication between hosts and viewers, it is similar to the Chijijik streaming service.
Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon stated last February, "Basically, Naver’s platform and live commerce are not significantly different technologically, so we plan to explore synergies from the platform perspective through the Chijijik service in the future," adding, "We expect to provide various entertaining content by combining Chijijik with streamers." A Naver official said, "We are improving the completeness of Chijijik while observing user reactions," and added, "Live commerce requires internal testing, but it is expected to continue evolving even after the official version is released."
Chijijik also changed the criteria for storing live streaming replays by grade. The need for a period change was raised based on an analysis of viewing patterns. Except for the new streamer 'Rookie' grade, all replays were previously stored permanently, but now only the highest grade, 'Partner,' can have permanent storage.
Chijijik’s interest can also be seen in the increase in viewer numbers. According to internet broadcasting ranking site SoftConViewership, Chijijik’s peak viewers this month reached 253,146, a 14.5% increase compared to the previous month. Although the average number of viewers slightly decreased by 0.8%, it still recorded around 78,000 viewers.
AfrikaTV, which is competing with Chijijik, plans to solidify its position as the number one market player through renewal and global expansion. AfrikaTV changed its company name to ‘Sup’ last month. It plans to launch the beta version of the global live streaming platform Sup in the second quarter of this year to target Southeast Asian markets such as Thailand. In the third quarter, the domestic service name will also change from AfrikaTV to Sup.
However, AfrikaTV’s viewer numbers appear stagnant. This month, AfrikaTV’s peak viewers decreased by 0.7% to 377,886. The average number of viewers dropped by 7.3% to around 127,000, showing a downward trend.
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