The number of streamers making money on Twitch nearly doubled this year, as the popularity of Fortnite and the platform’s broadening scope drew more and more viewers. Twitch has been seen as the most competitive mainstream threat to YouTube as it continues to grow — but it still hasn’t managed to pull top YouTube creators away from their main platform.
Twitch remains a relatively small service for creators: Twitch didn’t say how many streamers in total are generating revenue, but the platform saw an 86 percent increase between 2017 and 2018 in how many broadcasters were being paid. Breakout stars like Fortnite player Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, who stated he earns six figures a month just from streaming, have shown that the platform can...