"Everyone Jumped Into Streaming"... SOOP to Advance Its AI Manager

AI Learns Streamer Patterns to Host Broadcasts
'Streamer of the Year' Awards Go to Gwa Juice Seyoun, Gamst, and Others

SOOP (Soop, formerly AfreecaTV) successfully concluded its year-end event, the 'Streamer Awards,' which selects the top streamer of the year, by unveiling its proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) broadcast manager, 'SARSA (Soop AI Realtime Streaming Assistant) 2.0.'

The SOOP Year-End Festival 'Streamer Awards' ceremony held on the 27th. SOOP

On the 27th, SOOP held the 15th 'SOOP Streamer Awards' at the SOOP Colosseum in Sangam, Seoul. This awards ceremony brings together users and streamers who have been active on the platform throughout the year.

During the event, SOOP also introduced 'SARSA (SARSA) 2.0,' an AI manager that serves as a manager for streamers. Soo Kil Seo, CEO of SOOP, stated, "Even when a streamer steps away for a moment or is broadcasting while sleeping, SARSA continues the broadcast on behalf of the streamer." He added, "SARSA's goal is to maintain the flow of the broadcast by responding to chats and reactions based on the streamer's voice, facial expressions, and previous broadcast data." He further announced plans to expand its application to various genres, saying, "We will create an environment where products or objects exposed on the broadcast screen are recognized, naturally connecting content and advertisements."

In addition, the main awards in SOOP's key content categories went to: Kim Mingyo in the game category, Bongjun in the visual radio category, and Gamst in the sports category. Awards were also given to 100 individuals, including Gwa Juice Seyoun, who were selected as 'Streamers of the Year'-the top 0.1% based on broadcast metrics-and to 10 newcomers. The 'Content of the Year' award was given to the StarCraft league 'JPL Season 2,' which featured many streamers.

Soo Kil Seo, CEO of SOOP, is introducing the artificial intelligence (AI) manager 'SARSA 2.0,' which serves as a manager for streamers.

AfreecaTV changed its name to SOOP after 18 years. Along with this, the title 'BJ' (broadcast jockey) was also changed to 'streamer.' This move is seen as an effort to move away from the negative perception of the brand caused by the misconduct of some BJs. The number of streamers currently active on SOOP is estimated to be around 30,000. The average monthly number of users exceeds 2 million. The main source of revenue is the 'Star Balloon' system, in which viewers purchase Star Balloons and the proceeds are shared between the streamer and SOOP.

Meanwhile, as it became known that popular streamers earn high incomes, a streamer boom emerged among people in their 20s and 30s. However, unlike some popular streamers whose monthly income reaches hundreds of millions of won, it is reported that most streamers do not even earn the minimum cost of living. According to data received earlier this year from the National Tax Service by Assemblyman Jeong Ilyoung of the Democratic Party, the total income of the top 1% of one-person media creators (247 individuals) was approximately 327.1 billion won, accounting for 18.3% of the total income of all one-person media creators. This figure is about 30 times higher than the top 1% income in 2019 (about 12.7 billion won).