SOOP posted weak results in the second quarter this year. SOOP, which had maintained the No. 1 spot among domestic live-streaming platforms, launched a sweeping rebranding in 2024 by changing its name from AfreecaTV, but since then its domestic market share has fallen and the global platform has yet to deliver clear results. The industry says the limits of its existing streamer-dependent business model are becoming apparent.
On the 3rd, the information technology (IT) industry said SOOP reported second-quarter consolidation basis revenue of 103.8 billion won and operating profit of 12.6 billion won. That was down 11.2% and 57.9%, respectively, from a year earlier. Net profit also fell 61.1% to 8.7 billion won. By institutional sector sales, the platform came to 74.1 billion won, down 12.3% on-year, and advertising was 27.2 billion won, down 11.6%.
SOOP said weaker advertising due to changes in esports schedules and one-off expenses related to a tax audit weighed on earnings. Chief Executive Lee Min-won said on an earnings conference call, "It is time to coolly assess the situation and make changes not only in terms of short-term performance fluctuations but also from the perspective of growth in the streamer and content ecosystem," adding, "We will not stop at simply cutting expenses or improving short-term results, but will focus on expanding the inflow of new streamers and users and increasing the activity of existing users."
However, the industry points to weakened core platform competitiveness as the backdrop for deteriorating results. Lee Hyo-jin, an analyst at Meritz Securities, said, "With tax audit expense removed in the second quarter, a quarter-on-quarter rebound in third-quarter profit is possible," but added, "Fundamentally, there is no clear breakthrough due to reverse leverage arising from a business structure trapped in domestic demand." Lee added, "Results from the global platform that the market had expected remain minimal, while the pace at which the domestic business is getting tougher is faster than anticipated."
SOOP pushed a full-scale rebranding in 2024 to improve its platform fundamentals, but the expected rebound has not materialized. The company changed its name from AfreecaTV to SOOP in Oct. 2024 and overhauled the user interface (UI) and user experience (UX). The strategy aimed to shed the prior image of BJ-centric, provocative personal broadcasts and to pursue a push into global markets, strengthen esports-centered operations, and expand new businesses.
But the rebranding effect was limited. In new businesses such as esports, it ceded the lead to Naver's CHZZK, and the existing streamer-centered ecosystem has not escaped controversies over sensationalism such as "Excel broadcasts," drawing criticism that the limits of a streamer-dependent business model are showing. As this image persists, analysts say the company is also struggling to secure new streamers who prefer advertiser-friendly platforms.
Its global business also has not produced clear results. SOOP launched a global platform in November last year to target overseas markets, but the user base remains small. It invested aggressively to expand its overseas business, but amid weak results, it liquidated its Japan subsidiary in 2024 and its Vietnam subsidiary in 2025. Overseas revenue last year was 6.5 billion won, or 1.4% of total revenue (466.5 billion won), leading to assessments that the global platform has not established itself as a new growth engine.
By contrast, rival Naver's CHZZK is rapidly adding users and seizing the lead in the real-time streaming market. According to app analytics platform Mobile Index, as of last month CHZZK's monthly active users (MAU) totaled 4.74 million, far outpacing SOOP's 2.37 million. After surpassing SOOP's user count at the end of 2024, CHZZK has continued aggressive streamer recruitment and service improvements, widening the gap.