NAVER's streaming platform Chzzk has surpassed 10 million cumulative app downloads about two years after its full launch, strengthening its position as one of South Korea's leading streaming services. The platform has drawn new users by securing a string of major sports and e-sports broadcasting rights, while its strategy of linking up with NAVER's other services is also paying off, industry watchers said.
Chzzk's combined downloads on Apple's iOS App Store and Google Play Store exceeded 10 million as of the end of last month, according to information technology industry sources on the 14th. Chzzk, which began full service in May 2024, has expanded its user base quickly despite being a latecomer to the streaming market, backed by aggressive marketing and content investment. In its first year, it absorbed users from Twitch after the platform withdrew from the Korean market, narrowing the gap with then-market leader AfreecaTV, now known as SOOP.
This year, the platform moved to cement its lead by securing a series of major sports broadcasting rights. Chzzk expanded its reach by streaming global events including the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics, the North and Central America World Cup, the Esports World Cup (EWC) and the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
For the World Cup in particular, Chzzk was the only online streaming platform to carry live coverage, filling the gap left by broadcasters that participated only on a limited basis. With many matches concentrated in weekday daytime hours, the platform saw a sharp increase in new users who said they installed Chzzk for the first time to watch soccer.
Users drawn in by the major sporting events also stayed on the platform. Cumulative viewing time for Chzzk's international sports event intellectual property rose 25.9% from a year earlier, while cumulative viewing time for non-sports content increased 15.3%. The figures suggest a lock-in effect, with users who arrived for sports coverage going on to consume other content.
Chzzk's monthly active users topped 4.5 million in September, according to Mobile Index. That is nearly double the roughly 2.3 million for SOOP.
NAVER's ability to handle large volumes of traffic reliably is also cited as a strength. The service remained stable even during surges in simultaneous viewers, including a peak of 4.94 million during the World Cup, 680,000 for the EWC and 1.23 million for the Asian Games.
Chzzk is also changing how viewers watch streams through specialized features. It was the first domestic streaming platform to introduce a co-watching function, combining streamers' distinctive commentary with real-time interaction among fan communities.
Integration with NAVER's ecosystem is another point of differentiation. Users can search for and consume information and content related to major events within NAVER services without moving between platforms.
NAVER's artificial intelligence technology is also being used to expand content. One example is Spotter, a video analysis AI that automatically extracts key moments from live video to create clips. Clips generated in real time appear within an average of five minutes not only on Chzzk but simultaneously on the NAVER app's home feed and clip tab, integrated search, AI briefing and sports pages.
Spotter was applied to every World Cup match, producing about 3,400 clips that have logged 120 million cumulative views. For the Asian Games, it created more than 4,600 clips covering major events featuring Korean athletes, drawing more than 56 million views to date. Chzzk plans to extend Spotter to general streaming content.
"Interest that begins with live streaming is leading to new forms of participation and consumption through search, clips and communities, and that is rapidly broadening our user base," a NAVER official said. "We will continue to expand original content and improve the service to grow into Korea's leading streaming platform, where diverse fan communities can gather and communicate around content."