It’s a common fact that the human mind grasps visuals better than sound or smell, and there is a massive difference in the processing rate. This is one of the main reasons everyone likes a video rather than reading or hearing audio podcasts. Today’s lifestyle has a colossal interference of the internet, and people are streaming various aspects of their life on the internet. Subconsciously we are attracted to these streamings and more eager to know what happens next.
We all have to attend various things like workshops, interviews, conferences, and much more that we want to share with the world, and these streaming websites or an app like Twitch gives us that platform. With the accelerating use of the internet, there are millions of creators, gamers, etc., who live-stream their work, which has paved the path for this prevalent live-streaming industry. Even startups and enterprises are using these streaming platforms to broadcast their product launch, offers, etc.
With the right approach, planning, and research, you can also build your streaming website or an app like Twitch.
Introduction To Twitch And Its Working
Twitch is an American live-streaming service launched in June 2011 and acquired by Amazon Inc. in August 2014. It’s a streaming platform that permits users to upload recorded clips, broadcast live gaming, participate in competitions, view live streams of other creators, and connect with the creators and users through a real-time chat. Users can view live broadcasts without creating any account although, to chat with the users or creators and broadcast your content, you have to create an account.
Through Twitch’s live chat, content creators can find people with the same interests, socialize and make friends. This app is compatible with any personal computer, Sony’s PlayStation consoles, and Microsoft’s Xbox. This app also offers browser support that allows users to communicate with the community by recording videos. As per a survey of 2019, there are 2.40 million users/viewers live on Twitch at any given time.
Twitch offers services like audio broadcasting, audio-video broadcasting, and video on demand. Offering all these services on a single platform has Twitch a popular product. There are few reasons for its popularity, like extraordinary features, real-time interactions, and no obligation to create an account to view the broadcasting content.
No language barrier is an added advantage as Twitch allows streamers to stream their content in their native language. A game can be broadcasted in multiple languages across the world. During a live broadcast, users can interact with their favorite creators through its in-built live chat and ask questions or cheer them.
Working Of Twitch
To understand the working Twitch, you have to understand the revenue sources and the business models. Three main factors make a video-streaming app popular and profitable.
- Twitch receives a sufficient amount of revenue from running advertisements related to developers, gaming companies, and various portals.
- The users on Twitch are required to buy a subscription of the channels if they want to support their favorite creator/streamer, and the subscription is divided equally between the channel creator and the company.
- Apart from that support subscription, if a user wants to view broadcasting and chat with a particular creator in real-time, they have to pay for a subscription. The users are charged monthly for these subscriptions. There are three tiers of these subscriptions that offer various perks like ad-free browsing, priority customer support, an extended emoticon set, and a custom Chat.
Twitch has been popular with these extended features and a successful business model. In earlier times, the gamers were hard to find on Tv shows as they hardly do this kind of stuff, but now with Twitch, users can find their favorite gamer instantly. It delivered the content which the target audience needed. Although this platform is not only for gamers, you have to find your niche and start broadcasting your content and watch the views go up in no time.
It’s essential to have a positive response from the users to build a live-streaming app. You should know the strategies these apps are following and, most importantly, the features present on these apps.
Essential Features Of An App Like Twitch
Attractive features are the spine of any popular streaming app. There are a set of features that are kind of essential for the development of a video-streaming app. Let’s understand these features that should be considered from a user’s point of view.
1. Onboarding
There should be a brief but informative onboarding section on your streaming app that explains the app’s functionalities before using it. While designing, you should consider limiting the number of slides and a smooth transition between two slides.
2. Registration
Creating an account is an essential feature of any application or website. Users feel they are a vital part of the venture. The process of registration should be simple and easy. There should be options for the users to either fill a registration form or register directly with their social media profiles such as Instagram, Facebook, etc.
Ensure that you have added different features to the profiles of a content creator and a user signing up as an audience. The registration process should get completed within a few seconds.
3. Video Library
Visual content is appealing to humans. You should use this fact to your advantage and add a video library on your live-streaming app that should be easily accessible by users. Features like this compel users to invest more time in your app.
4. Watch Lists
Recommendations are always welcomed from users. Personalized recommendations based on a user’s activity are a good idea. Users will feel welcomed with this feature.
5. Live-streaming
As a live-streaming app, your project should provide an option of live streaming of good video quality. You can use RTMP for a high-quality video service. RMTP maintains low latency connections and divides the complete stream into small parts to transit from the server to the client-side. The live-streaming feature is the backbone of apps like Twitch, making sure that you make it with great precision.
6. Chat
Every user loves their favorite creator during their live stream. Users can ask questions, cheer their favorite content creator through this feature. Interacting in real-time creates a sense of real-life experience online. To create a less expensive chat feature, you can take the help of a third-party solution.
7. Security
Security is the basic need of a live-streaming app. Your app should consist of advanced security features. These features help in avoiding a data breach and prevent video assets. For a cost-effective solution, you can use IP-based access control, DRM, and AES encryption.
8. Ratings
Everyone likes to give their opinion; it makes them feel important. Your streaming app should have a rating feature that allows users to give ratings to the broadcasters. You will get an idea about every content creator’s performance on your platform with this feature’s help.
9. Search Bar
Users should be able to search for a particular streamer through this feature. Apart from streamers, this should also allow them to search for content related to different topics.
10. Automatic Video Categorization
Cataloging each stream in real-time is not possible. For this purpose, you should take the help of Machine Learning and AI. Machine learning will prevent copyright breaching while streaming the content, and AI will analyze the type of content.
11. Cloud-Based DVR
A cloud-based DVR feature allows users to record shows through your app that are streaming live. You can integrate these two most preferred options, the Velocix Origin and the Cisco Infinite Video Platform, in your app like Twitch.
12. Screen Mirroring
This feature is an added advantage towards making your streaming app popular. This feature’s function is to send content from a smartphone to a bigger screen, like TVs or projectors. Commonly it is known as wireless screen mirroring. The content is transferred between screens with the help of a wireless connection like wi-Fi. Users love watching their streams on a bigger screen.
13. Monetization
A streaming app with a built-in payment feature is always appreciated. Your live-streaming app should have a built-in payment feature that allows users to pay for their subscriptions, access to premium content, and donations. Please make sure that your payment gateway should accept the majority of payment methods.
14. Analytics
This feature is beneficial in projecting the growth of a particular streaming category. You will be able to monitor viewership, peak traffic, and user engagement. It shows stats that would help you to compare traffic for various streaming events.
Steps To Develop An App Like Twitch
Now that you know about Twitch’s features and functionalities, you have a basic idea that you want to implement in developing your streaming app. Some crucial steps are mandatory to follow while building these apps.
1. The Planning
An intense amount of brainstorming and planning is required in an app-building process. Identify your expectations you have from this project. Research the scope of this domain. You should know who your competitors are and their strategies.
Know all the monetization models that the apps like Twitch follow and decide which model you want to use or create your custom money-making model. Focus on the key facts that will differentiate your streaming app from others. Decide the number and types of features you want in your app for better functionality. Engage in a brainstorming session with your team about the budget, design, development, etc.
2. Tech Stack
Now that you have decided on your project’s budget and features, you can easily select the tech stack you want in your app. Selecting a tech stack includes choosing the platform and comparing the third-party integrations that will power your streaming app combinedly. You can either create a custom platform or select existing live streaming platforms such as Brightcove, Contus Vplay, and Vplayed.
At this stage, you should decide the protocol to be used for your live-streaming app. Various protocols are available for video streaming, such as RTMP, HLS, MPEG-DASH, WebRTC, etc.
Your app should have a revenue model to generate profit. Either you can develop a unique strategy or follow the existing ones. You can offer some features to the users for free and charge for premium features, or you can offer essential features for free and run advertisements related to the content of your platform. Apart from these two, there is a third option; you can create one free app with advertisements and a paid one with all the premium features.
3. Design
To make a long-lasting impression, you should choose an appealing design for your project. Compare various apps to get an idea about the popular designs. Build a wireframe for every screen of the app, then turn these wireframes into a website or app prototype. You should hire a proficient mobile app developer that will assist you in the process.
4. Development
The process of developing a streaming app requires the creation of result-oriented strategies and hours of brainstorming. The development process of these apps also requires the integration of comprehensive cloud architecture. Your streaming app should have a list of features that are mandatory for this domain. The development cost of your video-streaming app will mainly depend on this section and your choice of choosing your app development partner.
5. Testing
After you have developed your streaming app, whether with the help of an app development company or a freelance mobile app developer, testing the app or a prototype is mandatory. The testing phase tells you various stats about the performance of the project. To get rid of bugs from your app, the testing team should run both manual and automated testing. You can either roll out a beta version for getting honest feedback from your target audience.
Cost To Develop An App Like Twitch
The cost to develop a fully functional live-streaming app will depend on various factors. These factors vary according to the development process of your app. It’s hard to draw an exact amount on developing a live-streaming app, but you can get an approximation based on the hours and human resources invested.
Different types of UI/UX design have varying price tags on them. The price will increase as the complexity of the design will increase.
Development of a streaming website or app like Twitch will include building the site structure, adding or creating features, adding essential libraries, and much more. The cost in this process can fluctuate based on the selected features. With every added feature, the cost will increase based on the type.
Backend infrastructure development will include APIs integration, server system configuration, and other vital configurations that allow your streaming app to work efficiently. Price will alter based on the number of APIs or type of server system chosen for the project.
The estimated cost will depend on the number of hours and human resources invested in developing your live-streaming app. You can calculate the total cost by consulting a mobile app development company.
If you are tight on funds, you should consider developing an MVP for your video-streaming app. It can generate revenue and attract significant investments, ultimately helping you build a full-scale app development.
Conclusion
Live-streaming apps like Twitch are climbing rapidly on the ladder of popularity and revenue generation. With the advancement in technologies, these apps are getting better every day with extraordinary features.
If you are thinking of developing your own live-streaming platform, then start now. You have your market research, number and types of features, and the development process. You only need a dynamic mobile app development company.
Matellio can help you develop your app like Twitch with a highly proficient team of mobile app developers who have delivered several extraordinary live-streaming applications. Call us to know more about the process!
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