#What can we Learn from Stream Charts VTubers Q3 2024 Report

On October 25th, Steam Charts released their most recent report on the VTuber industry with an alarming headline: “audience reach declined for the first time in 1.5 years.” The report analyzed data aggregated through Stream Charts and VStats.jp.

Thankfully for all involved, the cited decrease is marked only by a 1.5% drop in watch hours, with Q3 amassing 433.02M compared to 439.59M in Q2. This is still a noticeable increase from Q1 — with 430.82M cumulative watch hours — and previous years.

Stream Charts attributes this downward shift to a broader decrease in watch time across YouTube as a whole — the platform of choice for 46% of VTubers — which hit historic highs in Q2 for watch time, average and peak viewership, and active channels.

In spite of this lull across the industry, the three major agencies — cited by Stream Charts as being hololive, NIJISANJI, and VShojo — have all continued to grow. In Q3, their watch hours grew by 8.8%, 1.9%, and 10.5% respectively. Stream Charts attributes the latter to Ironmouse’s September subathon, breaking the record for paid subscribers at the time (since reclaimed by Kai Cenat). 

Likewise, Japanese agency Neo-Porte had a 15.5% increase in watch hours, attributed to the return of ShibuyaHAL’s yearly Apex Legends tournament.

Independent VTubers had their share of watch time drop by 4.6%. This correlates to likewise 2.4% fall in watch time on Twitch, which is the platform of choice for many independent VTubers. 

Another notable downturn is in total unique VTuber channels, dipping under the 5000 mark for the first time in one-and-a-half years. Despite this trend, Streams Charts recorded 7.6% growth in the number of Independent VTuber channels across quarters. This correlates with the number of agencies shutting their doors in 2024, suggesting an ever growing rift between independent VTubers and their corporate counterparts, without much of a middleground. 

The top streamers have remained stable, with only some slight variance in their rankings. NIJISANJI’s Kuzuha remains at the top of the game, with hololive staples such as Sakura Miko, Oozora Subaru, Usada Pekora, and Hakui Koyori following closely. Ironmouse had a particularly strong showing this quarter, with the aforementioned subathon increasing her watch hours by 48.5% 

Minato Aqua claimed her spot among the top 10 despite ending her streaming activities — graduating from hololive a month into Q3. Her final stream set the record for viewership in the VTubing space, peaking at 735,000 concurrent viewers.

Notably, these rankings are dominated by agency VTubers. Of the top 10 english speaking VTubers by watch hours, AdmiralBahroo and filian were the only “independent” creators to break through (though the latter having an affiliation with Mythic Talent).

Overall, the industry remains stable, with many of the big players holding onto their share of the market. The closure of many smaller agencies remains a cause for concern, with signs of the independent space continuing to grow saturated. 

The original report is available to read via Stream Charts. 

Streams Charts, an advanced streaming analytics platform, together with VSTATS.jp, a VTuber viewership analysis site, conducted a comprehensive report about VTubers’ performance and analyzed current viewer trends in Q3 2024. 

Their data is updated in real-time and spans from 2019, covering over 40 million channels across top platforms such as Twitch, YouTube, Kick, NimoTV, CHZZK, and others. This extensive coverage makes Streams Charts the world’s largest database of livestreaming statistics and analytics.