The live streaming market has snowballed through integration across several industries, including social media and gaming. In 2018, the media and entertainment segment held a more than 30% market share of the global live streaming technology market; between 2020 and 2030, the live streaming market is projected to have a value of more than $530 billion. According to Market Research Future, this increase marks a CAGR growth of nearly 30% for the period.
Live technology industry leaders
Social media and gaming
Several media and entertainment sectors, such as the online gambling industry and social media, have embraced live streaming technology. For example, the online casino industry offers a range of live games, including live blackjack games. These games are streamed from desktop computers, mobile phones, or laptops and use the same rules as the classic game but instead incorporate human dealers whom players can interact with on screen. This creates immersive real-world experiences in an online environment. It’s worth noting that these experiences are why there has been a considerable shift towards the virtual reality industry, which will be worth around $1.25 billion by 2025, according to a report by Emerged Research.
Likewise, social media platforms such as YouTube and Instagram have started to rely heavily on live streaming technology. In fact, reports suggest that more than 100 million people worldwide use Instagram’s live feature daily. This feature is used for more than just entertainment purposes, too, however. It’s ingrained in many companies’ social media strategies. According to statistics exploring social media usage in 2021, around 14% of advertisers and marketers posted an Instagram Live video that year. Businesses want to engage in cross-media storytelling on social media. Using the Instagram live feature uniquely tells one story while Facebook and Twitter tell another.
Live ecommerce
Lastly, live shopping is beginning to compete with live videos and gaming. Alibaba pioneered the live e-commerce market in 2016, and since then, live shopping, mainly through social media apps, has been steadily increasing, growing 76% between March 2020 and July 2021. This growth is projected to continue, with live eCommerce sales accounting for around 20% of all eCommerce sales by 2026. For perspective, live eCommerce involves retailers digitally broadcasting their products to consumers through video and directly communicating with them online. When you shop online, transaction and wait times are reduced, and there’s often more selection offered than in brick-and-mortar retail stores. Consumers today want more flexibility, which is why live shopping has benefited over the years.
Live streaming technology is not just changing the media and entertainment industry. We know it is changing how companies formulate their social media strategies, but also it’s changing how businesses practice intercultural communication. For example, last year, marketing directors expected roughly 40% of the events they attended to be virtual. However, consumers in the media and entertainment industry has, by far, accepted this technology the most over the years, whether it is watching live Instagram videos, shopping online, or playing live casino games.