{"id":327401,"date":"2025-12-03T05:24:19","date_gmt":"2025-12-03T05:24:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/327401\/"},"modified":"2025-12-03T05:24:19","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T05:24:19","slug":"why-athletes-from-wnbas-studbudz-to-shedeur-sanders-are-using-twitch-for-fan-engagement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/327401\/","title":{"rendered":"Why athletes, from WNBA\u2019s \u2018StudBudz\u2019 to Shedeur Sanders, are using Twitch for fan engagement"},"content":{"rendered":"

Athletes are human, and humans crave connection \u2014 the feeling of belonging to a shared moment. In 2025, more athletes than ever have turned to Twitch to build that kind of community.<\/p>\n

Kyrie Irving chatting through a 24-hour stream. The Sanders brothers allowing fans to sit inside Shedeur\u2019s NFL draft-day chaos. Ja\u2019Marr Chase and Cam Skattebo peeling back the curtain on their lives. One by one, athletes have opened their doors and virtually invited fans into something real.<\/p>\n

\u201cA huge part is authentically connecting with those people, with their fans \u2014 and they turn to Twitch to do that,\u201d Twitch CEO Dan Clancy said to The Athletic.<\/p>\n

Twitch\u2019s year in review<\/a>, released Tuesday, highlighted the top moments of 2025, during which athlete and celebrity streams climbed nearly 20 percent and streams tagged \u201cathlete\u201d jumped close to 40 percent, according to the company.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a long way from Twitch founder Justin Kan\u2019s early \u201clifecasting\u201d days, when he would stream his day-to-day existence on Justin.TV, the platform that preceded Twitch. Still, the spirit is the same. Twitch became a gaming powerhouse after its 2011 rebrand; however, since the platform lifted its strict gaming-only content rules in 2016, \u201cIRL\u201d (in real life) streams have exploded.<\/p>\n

Now, anyone can go live. Athletes sit at home, gaming or talking, with a chat scrolling beside them. Sometimes thousands watch and chat; sometimes only a few hundred. Either way, the connection feels direct and unfiltered.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur fandom is really all about this authentic experience of them as human beings,\u201d Clancy said. \u201cPeople want to see them as real humans.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019s also seen a wave of high-profile athletes jump in. Irving and Skattebo stream regularly, as do Chase, De\u2019Aaron Fox, Paul George and Jermaine Johnson. The platform\u2019s top creator is Kai Cenat, with over a million subscribers. His monthlong, 24\/7 \u201cmafiathon\u201d streams have drawn guests like LeBron James and Draymond Green \u2014 James staying on for more than an hour as more than 100,000 viewers watched<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever she say, we say. Buh-lieve it. She\u2019s our spokesperson.\u201d
\u2013 StudBudz on Napheesa Collier’s comments about WNBA leadership pic.twitter.com\/bbSDCqlFWT<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Just Women\u2019s Sports (@justwsports) October 10, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

One of the platform\u2019s seminal sports moments in 2025 was the \u201cStud Budz\u201d<\/a> \u2014 Minnesota Lynx guards Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman \u2014 and their 72-hour All-Star Weekend stream. The idea started as a throwaway line from Williams. However, once fans heard, they not only locked in but expected the content to be available.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll-star was low-key creeping up, and people were like, \u2018Oh yeah, we can\u2019t wait for the 72-hour stream,\u2019\u201d Williams told The Athletic. \u201cWe were like, \u2018Whoa, they\u2019re going to hold us to that.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Before the All-Star marathon, the duo\u2019s nightly streams drew a few dozen to a few hundred fans, who watched as Williams and Hiedeman broke down WNBA games. Occasionally, they reached 1,000 viewers, but the 72-hour stream transformed everything.<\/p>\n

Williams, Hiedeman and their friend and manager, Tenzin Dekyi, carried the camera everywhere, capturing scenes that included commissioner Cathy Engelbert dancing at a private event, the duo roaming hotel halls and teasing MVP candidate Napheesa Collier, Williams fighting off a brutal hangover at practice and even a black screen while they slept \u2014 which 5,000 viewers stuck around to watch. At its peak, they said the stream hit roughly 40,000 viewers.<\/p>\n

Were they worried about filming the chaos? Tens of thousands of fans looking in on the back halls of the WNBA? Seeing players while they were inebriated, partying or enjoying camaraderie?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wasn\u2019t worried about all of that,\u201d Williams said. \u201cIt\u2019s a live stream. Everybody in the space knew what we were doing. If you came around us, you knew you were going to be on the stream.\u201d<\/p>\n

The \u201cStud Budz\u201d debuted just before All-Star and quickly blew past 10,000 followers. They\u2019re now at 82,000 and rising. Through it all, the intimacy stayed intact.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know people from our chat now,\u201d Hiedeman said. \u201cThey got a whole community. We see them every time we get on. We know who we\u2019re talking to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other sports moments that defined Twitch\u2019s 2025 included Cenat suggesting what touchdown dance Jacksonville Jaguars rookie Travis Hunter should use in the NFL, Skattebo banging his head through a chair while recovering from an ankle injury, the moment Sanders heard his name called in the NFL Draft and the Los Angeles Kings broadcasting an entire game on Twitch in an interactive experience. Each stream provided fans with glimpses of the sports world that would rarely be seen in previous eras.<\/p>\n

\u201cSocial media, interestingly, I think in some ways is anti-social,\u201d Clancy said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t actually get you closer to your fans in a visceral sense. I think athletes turn to live (streaming) because they yearn for that authentic connection with their fans, rather than the distance that occurs on other social media platforms.\u201d<\/p>\n

Few aspects of 21st-century life foster connections like sports do. Thousands gathered, whether in a stadium or glued to a livestream, breathing the same moment in real time. Athletes crave the live current that flows through arenas \u2014 to stand at the center, orchestrating communal moments. Videographers can package an athlete through short-form video, but hours on a livestream can erode those fa\u00e7ades. That\u2019s what Clancy believes\u00a0pulls athletes like Skattebo and Sanders to Twitch. They can show themselves, unfiltered, and share a moment with hundreds or thousands at once.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re live, you can\u2019t wear a mask for that long,\u201d Clancy said. \u201cI can touch up a picture. On Instagram, I can build a caricature of myself. You can\u2019t do that live. They\u2019re there for you.\u201d<\/p>\n