Influential factors of streamer popularity in the live streaming platform

Abstract

The rapid growth of online live streaming platforms has generated vast interaction data that presents opportunities for a quantitative analysis of streamer behavior and the dynamics of streamer popularity. Despite this, there remains a significant gap in understanding how streaming behaviors and co-playing relationships impact streamer popularity. This study addresses this gap by utilizing a comprehensive dataset encompassing over 450 thousand streamers from January 2020 to April 2023. We demonstrate that features derived from streaming and co-playing behavior can effectively forecast both short- and long-term popularity, achieving an AUC of 0.93 to 0.99. Our analysis indicates that streamer popularity is significantly impacted by the average number of followers and viewers, as well as their strategic positioning within the co-playing network, notably the number of weakly connected components. These findings elucidate strategies for streamers to attract and retain followers, enhancing their presence within the community. This research is the first to explore the influence of the live streamer co-playing network on popularity dynamics, revealing how interactions among online content creators can drive popularity beyond individual behaviors. Moreover, the insights gained can assist brands and businesses in collaborating with streamers more effectively, maximizing their influence and creating mutual value.