SOOP is pushing to diversify its business to move away from a revenue structure centered on a few streamers, but the market's attention remains fixed on "Excel broadcasts." It has sought to expand esports coverage this year, yet monthly active users (MAU) have barely grown. Instead, thanks to a well-known streamer who resumed Excel broadcasts, results are expected to improve in the second quarter.
According to the industry on the 23rd, SOOP is working to diversify its revenue structure by expanding its content. Since Mar. 2024, it has been running its own esports content such as the StarCraft tournament "ASL" and the Overwatch tournament "OWCS," and on the 19th it also broadcast live a soccer match between OGFC, made up of former Manchester United players, and Suwon Samsung Legends.
It is also moving into overseas markets. In 2024 it changed its name from "Afreeca" to "SOOP" and launched a global service, and the decision to use the term "streamer" instead of "BJ" is part of the same effort.
User metrics, however, appear stagnant. According to Mobile Index, monthly active users (MAU) fell from 2.48 million in Mar. 2024 to 2.34 million in Mar. 2025, and last month stood at 2.36 million, effectively flat. The global service was integrated with the domestic platform in Jan., but as of 4 p.m. on the 22nd, the number of foreign-language broadcasts was around 20, and the top-viewed channel had only 24 viewers.
According to FnGuide, the market forecast for SOOP's first-quarter operating profit is 26.9 billion won, down 1 billion won from a year earlier. Samsung Securities cut its first-quarter operating profit estimate by about 16% to 26.4 billion won from 31.5 billion won.
Brokerages cite stagnant platform sales as the reason for SOOP's weaker profitability. SOOP's sales are divided into platform revenue such as item donations and subscriptions, and advertising/content production. Among these, the platform revenue ratio was 79% in 2024 and as high as 70.9% last year. Advertising/content production sales increased from 81.7 billion won to 128.7 billion won, but platform sales were essentially flat, moving from 326.5 billion won to 331.0 billion won.
The stagnation in platform sales is attributed to mounting fatigue with a broadcast format that encourages large donations. A prime example is Excel broadcasts, where multiple streamers appear to spur donation competitions through singing or dancing, and rankings are assigned based on revenue size. Another factor is that "Commander Zico," known as the originator of Excel broadcasts, halted streaming in Oct. last year.
But the market's interest is turning back to Excel broadcasts. After returning last month with golf content, Commander Zico resumed Excel broadcasts this month. According to the item-donation tracking site "PoongToday," this streamer recorded 19.94 million star balloons in April alone this year (about 2.2 billion won), receiving about 80% more in donations than the No. 2 streamer (11 million). Oh Dong-hwan, an analyst at Samsung Securities, said, "With Commander Zico resuming Excel broadcasts, the likelihood of a rebound in second-quarter platform sales has increased."
An industry official said, "Considering brand image and platform sustainability, it is necessary to lower dependence on specific content and diversify revenue sources."
Securing major events is also being discussed as an alternative. CHZZK, a competing service to SOOP run by Naver, saw users increase in February on the back of Winter Olympics coverage, with MAU rising about 11% from 3.18 million in Jan. this year to 3.54 million in Feb. CHZZK has also secured the broadcast rights for the North and Central American World Cup in June.
A SOOP official said, "We are widening our business scope to include self-produced esports tournaments, streamer-participation content, and content based on external broadcast rights."