International live streaming platform SOOP (a property backed by the people behind South Korea-based live streaming company AfreecaTV) officially launched this week on web and mobile apps with esports broadcasts, original content, and a new monetization program.
Through a deal with Riot Games, SOOP will broadcast Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) Pacific and Valorant Challengers Thailand, as well as the Thai qualifiers and main event of the AfreecaTV Valorant League (AVL). It will also host broadcasts for the League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC), and exclusive streams from League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) rosters that include T1, Gen.G, DRX, Kwangdong Freecs, BRION, and more. Finally, SOOP will broadcast the Global StarCraft II League (GSL), AfreecaTV StarCraft League (ASL), and AfreecaTV Tekken League (ATL).
SOOP will also broadcast content from the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) League (exclusively on SOOP for fans outside of South Korea) and Union Mondiale de Billard (UMB) matches, as well as live streams of regional entertainment content.
SOOP also announced a three-month promotion that will reward streamers for streaming content for just one hour before Aug. 31. The initiative is designed to get new talent comfortable with the platform and “lower the barrier to entry for aspiring streamers.”
The program has three tiers—Rookie, Affiliate, and Partner—and during the promotional period, users will be eligible to become Affiliate streamers after achieving just one hour of cumulative streaming. After Sept. 1, users will be required to stream for at least five hours cumulatively (in the last 30 days), have at least 30 followers, and have an average of three viewers on stream (in the last 30 days) to be eligible for monetization in the Affiliate tier. Users who stream for 30 hours cumulatively (in the last 30 days), have at least 10,000 followers, and have an average of 1,000 viewers on stream (in the last 30 days), are eligible for Partner review.
The different tiers are designed to make the revenue split from rewards from users such as “gems” and “subscriptions.” Users purchase gems in denominations of 10 gems for $1.10 USD. Affiliate-level streamers earn $0.60 per 10 gems; while Partner streamers earn $0.70 per 10 gems. A one-month subscription costs $3, with Affiliate streamers receiving 70% of subscription fees, while Partner streamers receive 80%, after the deduction of platform fees. SOOP noted in its announcement that other revenue streams for streamers such as advertising revenue, are in the works.