DouYu plans to launch live streaming service in Japan

Chinese live streaming platform DouYu is aiming to expand its business into Japan, according to report from Chinese media publication Sina.

To expand into the Japanese market, DouYu will partner with Mitsui & Co., Ltd. to establish a joint company. In addition to recruiting popular streamers, DouYu plans to add more content and e-commerce elements to the Japanese platform.

DouYu has declined to comment on the news at the time of writing. According to its prospectus, which was published for listing on Nasdaq, the company will focus on increasing profitability and selectively expanding overseas in the near future. DouYu raised $775M (£700M) on the New York Stock Exchange on its first day in July.

This is not the first time that DouYu has expanded into a new market, however. In June 2017, DouYu invested in the Chinese mobile live streaming platform Nonolive and set up a branch in Shenzhen to operate the business – counting Southeast Asia as its market. It also launched a live streaming platform DoYo in 2018 to further expand the Southeast Asian market.

According to public data, the domestic live streaming market in Japan is expected to grow from 50 billion yen (£380 million) to 360 billion yen (£2.72 billion) by 2022/

Esports Insider says: It appears as if DouYu didn’t live up to its expectations for developing its overseas business previously, especially with the news of layoffs following its last attempt. For DouYu, the launch of its Japanese live streaming platform is a solid test following its successful listing on Nasdaq.

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