Journalism on Twitch: an exploratory analysis of early news initiatives

• Autores: González-López, Roberto, Negreira-Rey, María-Cruz, Vázquez-Herrero, Jorge
• Formato: artículo
• Fecha de Publicación: 2024
• Institución: Universidad de Piura
• Repositorio: Revista de Comunicación
• Lenguaje: español; inglés
• OAI Identifier: oai:revistas.udep.edu.pe:article/3433
• Enlace del recurso: https://revistadecomunicacion.com/article/view/3433
• Nivel de acceso: acceso abierto
• Materia: Twitch; retransmisión; medios sociales; periodismo; periodista; medios de información; plataforma digital; acceso a la información; comunicación; streaming; social media; journalism; journalist; information media; digital platforms; access to information; communication

News media and journalists must adapt to emerging platforms in order to respond to changing news consumption habits. This article addresses the trend of Social Media Live Streaming on Twitch, a platform that has experienced significant growth since 2020. The research pursues the main objective of finding out how Spanish media and journalists are adapting to this platform and what possibilities it offers to the journalistic profession, in terms of business model as well as in communicative style, formats and relationship with the audience. An exploratory analysis made it possible to identify 55 channels and to establish, in the first phase of the research, two categories of study: channels driven by journalists –with a background in digital or legacy media– or by news media –digital natives or legacy ones–. In a second phase, seven representative cases were studied through content analysis of their profiles and streams, as well as interviews with the promoters. The results reflect an initial stage in the development of news initiatives on Twitch, characterized by experimentation and diversity of projects. In general, there is no great innovation in content and formats, which are based on conversation. There is a hybridization of information and entertainment in live broadcasts which, although providing rigorous information and featuring experts, maintain a relaxed tone and make use of humor. The relationship with the audience is built through the chat, a central element during broadcasts, and subscriptions from viewers, which are the main source of income for the channels.