Since the launch of the Just Chatting category in the second half of 2018, reaction content has been a staple of Twitch. With the legal battle between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard heating up, top streamers have seized the opportunity to capitalize on the reality show.
The public’s attention has been drawn to Depp and Heard’s high-profile divorce in recent months, and much of the current trial has been available for content creators on Twitch to co-stream on their channels. Along with Pokimane and xQc, Asmongold, the platform’s top MMO streamer, has spent a significant amount of time in recent weeks watching and reacting to the trial live, resulting in massive viewership.
Asmongold has seen a nearly 30% increase in his hours watched over the previous 30-day period and a 43.7 percent increase in average viewers while streaming the events of the courtroom.
Some fans have had strong reactions to the case because of the nature of reality television. However, Asmongold made it clear that he doesn’t care what critics think about his use of the trial for the benefit of his stream.
When a user commented on Twitter that his reaction-style content during the trial was “weird,” Asmongold doubled down on his content strategy by rationing them with a reply of his own.
The defamation trial between Depp and Heard is in its final week. Asmongold has reached a peak of 160,000 to 175,000 viewers five times in the last week of streaming the trial. His 53 hours in the Just Chatting category have averaged more than 100,000 viewers and 5.7 million hours watched over the last seven days.
Over that time period, Asmongold has the most viewers in the Just Chatting category, beating out other streamers like xQc and HasanAbi who have also covered the trial.
