Twitch’s Announcement to Cease Operations in South Korea
Twitch has made the difficult decision to discontinue its services in South Korea, attributing the move to unsustainable operational costs. The company’s CEO, Dan Clancy, has publicly addressed the issue, stating that despite significant efforts to reduce expenses, the costs of running Twitch in Korea remain excessively high. Clancy highlighted that network fees in Korea are a staggering 10 times more expensive than in most other countries, leading to considerable financial losses for Twitch with no viable solution to continue operations in the region.
Ultimately, the cost to operate Twitch in Korea is prohibitively expensive and we have spent significant effort working to reduce these costs so that we could find a way for the Twitch business to remain in Korea.
— Dan Clancy @djclancy999.{{DOMAIN}} (@djclancy999)
{{DATE}}
Background of the Issue
In South Korea, a law requires content providers to pay volume-dependent fees to deliver their services through Korean internet service providers. This law has significantly impacted high-bandwidth sites, including major streaming platforms. The fees are based on the amount of data transmitted, which can be substantial for services that stream high-definition video content.
One notable case highlighting the impact of this law involved Netflix and a major South Korean internet service provider. Netflix found itself in a legal battle over who should bear the responsibility for these network fees. The dispute underscored the challenges faced by international streaming services operating in South Korea.
| Country | Network Fees Comparison |
|---|---|
| South Korea | 10x higher than most countries |
| Most Other Countries | Significantly lower |
Twitch’s Efforts and Community Response
In an attempt to mitigate the high operational costs in South Korea, Twitch implemented several cost-reduction measures:
- Reducing maximum source quality to 720p
- Terminating Video on Demand (VOD) service for South Korean creators
- Exploring a peer-to-peer streaming model
These efforts, however, were met with controversy and concern from the community. Both Korean and international viewers expressed apprehension that these changes might be indicative of Twitch’s impending withdrawal from the South Korean market.
I am beyond heartbroken to lose the channel I spent the last 6 years building. The news still hasn’t fully hit me yet, and feels like a very bad dream. I’m doing my best to try and keep my head above the water so we can figure out where to go from here and keep the community together.
— MunchkinJesse @munchkinjesse.{{DOMAIN}} (@munchkinjesse)
{{DATE}}
The sentiment among the streaming community was one of disappointment and sadness. Many streamers, like MunchkinJesse, who had dedicated years to building their channels and communities on Twitch, were left to grapple with the reality of losing their platform.
Timeline for Twitch’s Service Shutdown in South Korea
The timeline for Twitch’s service shutdown in South Korea has been laid out with specific dates for the cessation of various services:
- End of purchases (such as subscriptions and bits) for viewers in Korea: February 27, 2024
- Final payouts to Korean streamers: March 16, 2024
- Offboarding of affiliates and partners: June 4, 2024
This phased approach gives the Twitch community in South Korea time to make the necessary adjustments and plan for their transition to other streaming platforms.
