Ludwig's subathon

Last updated

Ahgren during the last 15 seconds of the stream End of subathon.png
Ahgren during the last 15 seconds of the stream

On March 14, 2021, American livestreamer Ludwig Ahgren began continuously livestreaming on Twitch. The livestream ended on April 13, 2021, after 31 days. A subathon is a type of livestream in which viewer donations add more time to a descending timer that counts down to the end of the stream. [1] Throughout the streams' duration, Ahgren received 282,191 subscriptions, breaking the previous record set in 2018 by Tyler "Ninja" Blevins of the most concurrent subscribers on Twitch. The subathon's content consisted of talking to his viewers and stream moderators, playing games, and sleeping, among other various daily activities. During Ahgren's sleep breaks (which comprised about a third of the stream) his moderators entertained the audience, for which they were financially compensated. Ahgren grossed US$1,434,850(equivalent to $1,613,347 in 2023) from the stream, before taxes, charity donations, and other deductions. Not including sponsorships, Ahgren profited $202,000(equivalent to $227,129 in 2023).

Contents

Publications highlighted the stream's consistent and comforting presence. Others used the subathon as a discussion starter about Twitch's lack of protective systems for marathon streams, sexism in sleep streams, and the healthiness of streams of such length (although the subathon was considered well-planned for his wellbeing). Ahgren's stream greatly popularized subathons and other streamers have held their own as a result of this trend. Ahgren's subscription record remained unbroken until February 2023 when the record was broken by Kai Cenat.

Background

Ahgren in 2022 Ludwig Ahgren in 2022 (2) (cropped).jpg
Ahgren in 2022

Ludwig Ahgren is an American livestreamer and YouTuber. He gained prevalence in 2018 and 2019 and quickly rose to popularity. [2] Ahgren saw further growth from the 2020 resurgence of the 2018 video game Among Us . [3] Twitch—then Ahgren's livestreaming platform—also saw heightened popularity in 2020, partially due to the COVID-19 lockdowns creating a higher demand for online entertainment. [4] According to Taylor Lorenz of The New York Times , Ahgren's stream may be "an extension of the trend of creators monetizing more and more parts of their lives". [4]

In March 2021, Ahgren had planned a 24-hour stream, but it was rescheduled due to Ahgren undergoing an appendectomy. [5] The rescheduled stream was altered to be a subathon. [5] Short for "subscription marathon", a subathon is a type of livestream where every time a streamer receives a subscription—US$5 donations from viewers [6] —more time is added to a descending timer. [1] [7] Once the timer reaches zero, the stream ends. [1] While subathons existed in the Twitch community prior to Ahgren's stream, they usually did not span multiple days, [8] [9] and were not as prevalent. [1]

Livestream

The livestream was broadcast on Twitch (logo pictured). Twitch logo 2019.svg
The livestream was broadcast on Twitch (logo pictured).

Content

The livestream's content consisted of playing games, such as Super Mario Odyssey and Pokémon ; cooking; talking to his viewers and moderators; watching movies; exercising in his garage; and sleeping. [10] [11] [4] Ahgren spent 31.5% of the stream sleeping and 22.4% under Twitch's category "Just Chatting". [12] : 03:17  When Ahgren had to take bathroom or sleep breaks from the stream, his moderators would entertain the stream by talking, watching videos, and playing movies. [7] [11] [4] Once, Ahgren showered on camera while wearing shorts. [11] [9] Ahgren's roommates and QTCinderella made stream appearances at times. [4] Kotaku 's Nathan Grayson wrote, you can "just spend your whole day with Ahgren". [11]

Timeline

Ludwig Ahgren Twitter
@LudwigAhgren

I fell asleep on stream last night and became the most watched streamer on Twitch. What the hell is even that.

March 15, 2021 [4]

Ahgren began livestreaming to Twitch on March 14, 2021; [13] he had 1,730 subscriptions the day prior. [14] Initially, Ahgren thought the stream would last around 24 to 48 hours. [10] [4] At the start of the subathon, every subscription added 20 seconds to the subathon's timer, [11] but it was later brought down to 10 seconds. [15] [7] [13] Ahgren instated a maximum cap of 100 gift subscription purchases by a single user, which would cost $500 (gift subscriptions are subscriptions purchased by one user but given to others). [13] [16] At one point during Ahgren's sleep between March 14 and 15, he had the most concurrent viewers of any Twitch stream, and was trending on Twitter. [9] [3] On March 27, Ahgren was absent due to a trip. [16] Fellow streamer and Ahgren's roommate Slime took over the stream during this period. [16] On April 4, Ahgren, QTCinderella, and their roommates were swatted. [17] The stream momentarily ended; once it returned, Ahgren and QTCinderella hid the swatting from the stream viewers. [17]

On April 10, the stream was one second away from ending before subscriptions were quickly added to bring the timer up. [18] [19] On April 13, Ahgren broke Tyler "Ninja" Blevins' record for the most concurrent subscribers on Twitch; [7] [10] [15] Ahgren had 271,000 on that date, while Blevins' 2018 record was 269,154. [15] Blevins replied on Twitter by saying, "I would be lying if I said [I] wasn't a little sad, but congrats [Ludwig] on holding the new sub record". [15] The subathon's timer did not run out; Ahgren set a cutoff date for the stream—April 13—to prevent it from continuing indefinitely. [15] For every subscription purchased on April 13, Ahgren donated $5 to the Humane Society of the United States and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. [15] [10] [14] The stream ended on April 13, 2021, at 9 pm (PDT), after running for 31 days. [19] Ahgren had 282,191 subscriptions at the stream's end, [20] and had surpassed two million followers. [13] Overall, Ahgren averaged around 43,000 viewers during the stream. [20] Following the stream, he stated he would not do another subathon. [21] [22] On April 19, Ahgren hosted a giveaway of free stickers to subscribers of the subathon. [23]

Earnings

Distribution of earnings [24] [25] [12] : 15:39 

  Twitch cut (31.0%)
  Charity (25.6%)
  Taxes (16.8%)
  Profit (14.2%)
  Moderators (12.4%)

In total, the livestream grossed $1,434,850(equivalent to $1,613,347 in 2023). [24] Ahgren did not profit all of these earnings: Twitch took a cut of $441,872(equivalent to $496,841 in 2023); Ahgren donated $365,000(equivalent to $410,406 in 2023) to charities; Ahgren paid his moderators, with administrative costs totaling $177,000(equivalent to $199,019 in 2023); and taxes were deducted. [24] [25] Not including sponsorships, Ahgren profited $202,000(equivalent to $227,129 in 2023) from the stream. [24] When analyzing which activity produced the most subscriptions per hour, the top 3 activities (highest to lowest) were: Twitch's "Just Chatting" category, sleeping, and playing Magic The Gathering. [12] : 08:49  The worst earner was the video game TrackMania . [12] : 08:49  Ahgren paid his 15 moderators since they did substantial work in the stream's upkeep; this is notable since many streamers do not pay their moderators. [25]

Reception and reactions

Nathan Grayson of Kotaku called the livestream "one of Twitch's most consistent and comforting presences". [15] Similarly, a viewer interviewed by The New York Times ' Taylor Lorenz said the stream gave comfort and connection. [4] Peter Marsh of ABC News compared the stream to a high school sleepover, and said the stream "developed a life of its own, with in-jokes, memes and characters", [9] while Bijan Stephen of The Verge wrote, "It's incredible to me that [...] Twitch still has its own distinct culture and its own set of stars who seem to do stunts like this just because they seem cool". [8]

Morgan Park of PC Gamer incorrectly speculated that the stream would end after Ahgren's absence on March 27, 2021, and highlighted the spontaneity of its possible end. [16] Carol Zhang of Screen Rant attributed the length of the livestream to its "unprecedented popularity". [19] Grayson mentioned the presumed "mental and physical toll on everyone involved". [15] Ahgren has been criticized for holding a subathon while already being wealthy. [25] Grayson wrote, "No matter how much (or how little) he makes off this subathon, Ahgren will remain a rich person who takes a chunk of his money directly from people who are poorer than him. Such is the nature of Twitch." [25] Ahgren told viewers to not donate money from their stimulus checks. [25]

In reaction to Ahgren broadcasting himself sleeping, streamer Lara6683 criticized the Twitch community for perceived sexism: "It's so weird how differently folks react to a man sleeping on stream compared to a woman sleeping on stream". [11] Ahgren's stream also induced discussion on the unhealthiness of lengthy "marathon" streams; [11] [26] although, Grayson wrote, "it could be considered heartening that Ahgren is pioneering a new kind of marathon stream, in which working out and sleeping are just as important as gaming and talking with chat". [11] According to Cody Gravelle of Screen Rant, while Ahgren's stream was well-planned, Twitch should improve its protective systems for streamers, as marathon streams are taxing to streamers' physical and mental health. [26]

Legacy

Twitch streamer during a subathon Afghans Subathon 2021.jpeg
Twitch streamer during a subathon

Publications have noted the stream's significance and influence. Park and Declan McLaughin of Upcomer described the stream as "historic". [16] [20] McLaughin highlighted that mainstream publications reported on it. [20] In 2022, Max Miceli of Dot Esports called Ahgren's subathon the "most high-profile subathon" and credited him with the increased popularity of subathon streams. [1] Streamers Sykkuno, iiTzTimmy, and Ironmouse held subathon streams as a result of this trend started by Ahgren. [27] In reaction to this trend, Ahgren called subathons "boring", and stated "[A subathon] is just a human living their life. It's more Truman Show than content creator creating content worth consuming". [28] Ahgren's subscription record remained unbroken until February 28, 2023, when Kai Cenat reached more than 300,000 subscribers during his 30-day subathon. [29] [30]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Twitch (service)</span> American live-streaming platform

Twitch is an American video live-streaming service that focuses on video game live streaming, including broadcasts of esports competitions, in addition to offering music broadcasts, creative content, and "in real life" streams. Twitch is operated by Twitch Interactive, a subsidiary of Amazon.com, Inc. It was introduced in June 2011 as a spin-off of the general-interest streaming platform Justin.tv. Content on the site can be viewed either live or via video on demand. The games shown on Twitch's current homepage are listed according to audience preference and include genres such as real-time strategy games (RTS), fighting games, racing games, and first-person shooters.

Hans Eli Sebastian Fors, known by the pseudonym Forsen, is a Swedish Twitch streamer who initially gained popularity for having competed in StarCraft II, but is best known for competing in Hearthstone and for streaming a variety of popular games. He is also known for his rowdy fanbase, who call themselves "Forsen Boys" or "Forsen Bajs" and have had a hand in popularizing a number of Internet memes. Since December 2018, Forsen has had over one million followers on Twitch, and as of May 2023, has more than 1.7 million followers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shroud (gamer)</span> Canadian streamer and former professional esports player (born 1994)

Michael Grzesiek, better known as Shroud, is a Canadian streamer, YouTuber, former professional Valorant player, and former professional Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player. As of April 2022, his Twitch channel has reached over 10 million followers, ranking as the eighth most-followed channel on the platform, and his YouTube channel has over 6.79 million subscribers.

xQc Canadian streamer (born 1995)

Félix Lengyel, better known as xQc, is a Canadian online streamer and former professional Overwatch player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disguised Toast</span> Taiwanese-Canadian YouTuber (born 1991)

Jeremy Wang, better known as Disguised Toast, is a Taiwanese-Canadian streamer, YouTuber, and Internet personality. He got his start on YouTube, creating videos about the digital card game Hearthstone. Wang later began streaming on Twitch, before signing an exclusive streaming contract with Facebook Gaming in November 2019. In November 2021, Wang announced his return to streaming on Twitch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ludwig Ahgren</span> American YouTuber and streamer (born 1995)

Ludwig Anders Ahgren, known mononymously as Ludwig, is an American live streamer, YouTuber, podcaster, comedian, esports commentator, and competitor. Ahgren is best known for his live streams on Twitch from 2018 through late 2021, and on YouTube beginning in late 2021, where he broadcasts video-game-related content as well as non-video-game-related content such as game shows and contests. He is also known for his work as an esports commentator at various Super Smash Bros. Melee tournaments. He is the co-owner of the esports organization Moist Esports. He began streaming full-time on February 16, 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asmongold</span> American Twitch streamer and YouTuber (born 1990)

Asmongold, also known as ZackRawrr, is an American Twitch streamer, YouTuber, and content creator. His content primarily focuses on World of Warcraft, but he has covered other video games and topics related to gaming culture. Asmongold is a co-founder and co-owner of the streaming, gaming, and content creation organization One True King (OTK), based in Austin, Texas. He is also a co-owner of Starforge Systems, a computer company specialized in selling prebuilt gaming PCs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hasan Piker</span> American political commentator (born 1991)

Hasan Doğan Piker, also known as HasanAbi, is a Turkish and American online streamer and left-wing political commentator. He has previously worked as a broadcast journalist and producer at The Young Turks and as a columnist at HuffPost. He is currently one of the most-viewed and most-subscribed-to streamers on Twitch, where he covers news, plays a variety of video games, and discusses politics from a socialist perspective.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">One True King</span> Content organization based in Austin, Texas

One True King (OTK), legally OTK Media, Inc., is an American media organization based in Austin, Texas. The organization primarily focuses on online content creation and previously competed professionally in World of Warcraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sykkuno</span> American YouTuber and live streamer

Sykkuno is an American YouTuber and live streamer living in Las Vegas. He is best known for his live streams, which were hosted on Twitch from 2019 to April 2022, before he began streaming exclusively on YouTube in May 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AustinShow</span> American Twitch streamer and YouTuber

AustinShow is an American Twitch streamer, YouTuber, and media personality. He is known for hosting various talk and dating shows on Twitch, including Love or Host. He currently hosts his own show In The Tub with Austin Show, as well as co-hosting the game show Name Your Price alongside Will Neff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trainwreckstv</span> American Twitch streamer, philanthropist, and podcaster

Tyler Faraz Niknam, better known as Trainwreckstv or Trainwreck, is an American live streamer and co-founder of live streaming service Kick.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerma985</span> American YouTuber and Twitch streamer (born 1985)

Jeremy Elbertson, known online as Jerma985 or Jerma, is an American live streamer, YouTuber, and voice actor known for his elaborate and "borderline surreal" livestreams on Twitch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IShowSpeed</span> American YouTuber and livestreamer (born 2005)

Darren Jason Watkins Jr., known online as IShowSpeed, is an American YouTuber and rapper. He is best known for his variety livestreams, in which he primarily plays video games, including FIFA, Fortnite, and Roblox.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Streamer Awards</span> Awards show dedicated to live streamers

The Streamer Awards is an annual awards show dedicated to live streamers. It was founded in 2022 by Twitch streamer QTCinderella to award and celebrate other streamers, primarily in the Twitch community. Nominees are selected via an online vote by fans and winners are then determined using a weighted combination of the online popular vote (70%) and panelist vote (30%).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ironmouse</span> Puerto Rican-American VTuber

Ironmouse is a Puerto Rican-American VTuber, singer, and Twitch streamer. Active since 2017, she is a founding member of the VTuber group VShojo launched in 2020. With over one million followers on Twitch, she is the most-followed English language VTuber on the platform. She also has the record for most subscribed female streamer on Twitch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jinnytty</span> South Korean streamer (born 1992)

Yoo Yoonjin, better known as Jinnytty, is a South Korean Twitch streamer.

Brandon Ewing, known online as Atrioc, is an American live streamer, YouTuber and speedrunner known for his frequent collaborations with fellow streamer and ASU alumnus Ludwig Ahgren. He is known for his marketing-related series Marketing Monday, using his prior experience to give presentations within the marketing field to his audience. Ewing is also a former world record holder in speedrunning the video game series Hitman. He began streaming consistently at the beginning of 2020, and has over 315,000 followers as of May 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">QTCinderella</span> American Twitch streamer and YouTuber (born 1994)

Blaire, known online as QTCinderella, is an American Twitch streamer, YouTuber, and podcaster. She is the creator and host of The Streamer Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kai Cenat</span> American Twitch streamer (born 2001)

Kai Carlo Cenat III is an American online streamer and YouTuber. He is best known for his live streams and comedy-based content he uploads on YouTube. He is currently the second most-subscribed Twitch streamer and the 12th most followed Twitch streamer with approximately nine million followers, surpassing Ludwig Ahgren's record during a February 2023 subathon. He was named "Streamer of the Year" at the 2023 and 2024 Streamer Awards.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Miceli, Max (January 10, 2022). "What is a subathon on Twitch?". Dot Esports. Archived from the original on July 18, 2022. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  2. ↑ Hogeweg, Stan (March 26, 2021). "Twitch Streamer Ludwig's Subathon Explained". Game Rant. Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
  3. 1 2 Asarch, Steven. "A Twitch streamer ended his 31-day livestream by breaking the record for the most-subscribed-to personality on the platform". Business Insider . Archived from the original on September 15, 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Lorenz, Taylor (March 19, 2021). "The Endless Stream". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on April 13, 2021. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
  5. 1 2 Neylan, Adam; Roldan, Tomas; Fitzsimmons, Adam; McNeil, Colin (June 3, 2021). "Video: Shattering Records in his Sleep — How Ludwig's Subathon Broke Twitch". Upcomer. Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
  6. ↑ Tsiaoussidis, Alex (July 29, 2022). "xQc has earned as much as $488k in Twitch subs this year". Dot Esports . Archived from the original on September 29, 2022. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Ludwig Ahgren breaks Twitch subscription record after 31-day stint". BBC News . April 14, 2021. Archived from the original on April 16, 2021. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  8. 1 2 Stephen, Bijan (March 18, 2021). "A streamer is staying live for as long as people keep subscribing". The Verge . Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Marsh, Peter (March 19, 2021). "Ludwig said he would stream every minute of his life as long as his audience paid for it. He's been going for days". ABC News . Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Collins, Terry. "Streaming king: Ludwig Ahgren sets new world record for Twitch subscribers, passing 'Ninja'". USA Today . Archived from the original on September 29, 2022. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Grayson, Nathan (March 17, 2021). "Twitch Star's 'Never-Ending' Stream Shows No Signs Of Stopping, Despite Need To Eat, Sleep". Kotaku . Archived from the original on August 4, 2022. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Ahgren, Ludwig (April 24, 2021). How Much Money I Made From the Subathon (YouTube video). Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Williams, Demi (April 1, 2021). "Twitch streamer 'Ludwig' has been live for over two weeks". NME . Archived from the original on June 23, 2022. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  14. 1 2 Stephen, Bijan (April 14, 2021). "Ludwig ends his 31-day stream by breaking Ninja's all-time sub record". The Verge. Archived from the original on September 21, 2022. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Grayson, Nathan (April 13, 2021). "After Nonstop 31-Day Stream, Ludwig Breaks Ninja's All-Time Twitch Subscriber Record". Kotaku. Archived from the original on August 15, 2022. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 Morgan, Park (March 26, 2021). "The end of Ludwig's absurd 2-week Twitch stream may finally be in sight". PC Gamer . Archived from the original on August 12, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
  17. 1 2 Arias, Jackie (December 27, 2022). "QTCinderella Reveals She Has PTSD After Getting Swatted". Game Rant. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  18. ↑ Galloway, Ryan (April 10, 2021). "Ludwig's subathon timer hits one second before being saved by subscribers". Dot Esports. Archived from the original on August 19, 2022. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  19. 1 2 3 Zhang, Carol (April 12, 2021). "Ludwig's Historic Twitch Subathon Finally Ends Tomorrow". Screen Rant . Archived from the original on August 4, 2022. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  20. 1 2 3 4 McLaughin, Declan (April 14, 2021). "Ludwig's historic 31-day subathon stream: final numbers". Upcomer. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
  21. ↑ Galloway, Ryan (April 14, 2021). "Ludwig's subathon ends after 31 days". Dot Esports. Archived from the original on July 18, 2022. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
  22. ↑ Brown-Hobson, Jametrious (April 13, 2021). "Twitch Streamer Ludwig Says He is Never Doing Another Subathon". Game Rant. Archived from the original on August 14, 2022. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
  23. ↑ Galloway, Ryan (April 20, 2021). "How to claim a free Ludwig subathon sticker". Dot Esports. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
  24. 1 2 3 4 Onder, Cade (April 26, 2021). "Ludwig Reveals He Made Over $1.4 Million From His Twitch Subathon". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on September 29, 2022. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
  25. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Grayson, Nathan (March 25, 2021). "Twitch Streamer Behind 'Never-Ending' Marathon Says He'll Only Make A Fraction Of $470,000 Haul [UPDATE]". Kotaku. Archived from the original on February 15, 2022. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
  26. 1 2 Gravelle, Cody (March 20, 2021). "Twitch's Never-Ending Stream Is Proof There Should Be More Rules". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
  27. ↑ Tsiaoussidis, Alex (July 14, 2022). "What Ludwig wants to change for his next big subathon". Dot Esports. Archived from the original on September 29, 2022. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
  28. ↑ Polhamus, Blaine (June 7, 2022). "Ludwig calls subathons 'boring' as trend continues to rise". Dot Esports. Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
  29. ↑ "Twitch Streamer Kai Cenat Breaks Platform's Subscription Record". Bloomberg.com. March 1, 2023. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  30. ↑ Miceli, Max; Tsiaoussidis, Alex (February 28, 2023). "Kai Cenat blows past Ludwig's all-time Twitch sub record—and his huge haul is still growing". Dot Esports. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.