Soop Co., Ltd. (KOSDAQ:067160)
South Korea flag South Korea · Delayed Price · Currency is KRW
36,400
-400 (-1.09%)
Sep 22, 2026, 3:30 PM KST
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Earnings Call: Q2 2024

Jul 31, 2024

Summary

SOOP reported strong Q2 2024 results with revenue up 23% YoY and operating profit up 41% YoY, driven by platform and ad revenue growth. The company is expanding globally, focusing on innovation, and expects continued momentum despite a challenging ad market.

Anya Ssuzi
Streamer, SOOP

Okay. I guess it must be as natural as I can be, because the last time there was a timer and I could see when to start, but I was actually expecting a timer to come off. But obviously, I can start at my own pace. Anyways, hello, everyone. Welcome to the Second Quarter Earnings Call for 2024. Let me introduce myself. My name's Anya Ssuzi. Great to meet you. Yes, I am now working for SOOP this year.

Jung Chan-yong
CEO, SOOP

Yeah, that's great. She is the newest partner.

Anya Ssuzi
Streamer, SOOP

Yes. After the name change of the brand, rebranding to SOOP, I am now joined with this, and you probably used to see me singing, but here I am as the emcee of the day, and it's a great honor to be here. I'm actually very, very nervous. You told me that this is an easygoing place, nothing to be so different from the concert that I'm so used to, the dream concert, but I can see that I am extremely nervous now. But anyways, let me get started with this.

SOOP's earnings call is open to anyone interested in SOOP. However, as it is a performance-related broadcasting, only those who have pre-registered can ask questions in the chat. Today, we're joined by CEO Jung Chan-yong, our Director, Kim Jiyeon, and our Manager, Jeon Kyunghee. Let's get started with a few words.

Jung Chan-yong
CEO, SOOP

Hello, everyone. I'm Jung Chan-yong. We're finished up with the first half of this year, and so happy to share with the performance and also the plans for the second half of this year and also the year after this. I'm very excited to be here.

Now in the first half of this year, we are doing pretty well, actually. But what matters more is to be able to continue this momentum to the third and the fourth quarter. And I know for sure that we have the potential to do that.

Anya Ssuzi
Streamer, SOOP

Thank you. Next, please. Ms. Kim?

Kim Jiyeon
Director, SOOP

Hello, I'm Kim Jiyeon. Yes, it's pretty hot like [inaudible], and that means the first half of this year is already coming to an end. With the new brand name, SOOP, we've made new efforts and expansions of the business. And I am very happy to be able to share great news with you today. In the second half of this year, I have no doubt that we will be able to share with you even greater results. For more details, you can tune in and I will be more than happy to share the details.

Anya Ssuzi
Streamer, SOOP

Okay, great. Next, Ms. Jeon, please.

Jeon Kyunghee
Manager, SOOP

Hello. From the IR team, my name's Jeon Kyunghee. Yes, the first half really flew by, literally, and I think this is such a critical moment for our company. We do therefore have many great dynamic, exciting news to share with you.

Anya Ssuzi
Streamer, SOOP

Thank you. All right, great. Thank you very much.

Jung Chan-yong
CEO, SOOP

Yeah, I thank you, Anya Ssuzi, the new BJ today is with us, the streamer. We had a different emcee actually, but she had to leave because of other engagement and situations, which is why we have you, Anya Ssuzi, as a new streamer and the emcee for today. I believe that we have many fans of you, and see, looking at all these Star Balloons, your fans are here with us. But we do have the analysts and capital market analysts. Some of them may know you, some may not. So maybe you can go ahead and introduce yourself as an icebreaker. She is known to be a great musician, a singer, and a great person to have here in AfreecaTV.

So, in fact, I know I was actually going to ask her to sing, but I don't think she would like that idea. But let's go ahead with a little bit of introduction.

Anya Ssuzi
Streamer, SOOP

Sure. Hello. I am singing in this platform, SOOP, and also outside the platform. Most of my shows are music related. Basically, he told me, I guess I'm number one in terms of the rank for music in that category. So great to be here. And I do have my personal shows and channels, so please tune in.

Jung Chan-yong
CEO, SOOP

Yeah, I've been looking forward to having you here next to me, and I'm very, very honored to be here.

Anya Ssuzi
Streamer, SOOP

Yeah, actually all I've been doing was singing and I've been doing a little bit of emceeing here and there just recently. It is an honor for me to be invited here as an emcee.

Jung Chan-yong
CEO, SOOP

You're amazing. You are so versatile. You have great talents for sure. Some of you may already know how amazing she is. So back in 2012, Superstar K, you were one of the top 12, right? You were in your sophomore year in high school, so it's been around a decade or so. You're almost a professional in terms of singing, for sure. But I can see that you're talented in many different ways. You're a great singer, and you seem like a very kind and mild person in personality, but you do have other kind of great things and amazing talents here and there. So happy. So let's get excited about this.

Anya Ssuzi
Streamer, SOOP

Okay, so what's the order of proceedings today?

Jung Chan-yong
CEO, SOOP

Well, we'll first present the earnings highlights of the second quarter of this year and then have the Q&A session right after.

Anya Ssuzi
Streamer, SOOP

All right, let's proceed with the earnings result. Manager Jeon Kyunghee will present the second quarter's business performance and the results.

Jeon Kyunghee
Manager, SOOP

Yep. Sure. Slide, please. So let me start with the second quarter of 2024's earnings highlights and our business performance. SOOP's platform service and business continued to sail smoothly from the beginning of this year. First, in terms of content, there's a growing trend of engagement-driven and interactive contents created with various streamers. This began with Crocodile's Playground and continued with the Waktaverse Sports Festival in July, showcasing an increase in integrated contents led by influential streamers. AfreecaTV itself also offers content such as Esports World Cup and Assemble, encouraging engagement and participation from all streamers, regardless of which platform they're on. Additionally, new service features like Good Game, Good Luck are being introduced, promising further developments and advances in the latter half of this year.

In terms of functionalities and features, we've been optimizing our services through direct communication with streamers and users, and we've been enhancing features to boost participation in many different ways. Recently, we've partnered with Marpple Shop to enable streamers on SOOP to effortlessly create and sell merchandises with just a few simple clicks. In the third quarter, alongside our platform rebranding efforts, SOOP is preparing for changes and expansions in three major aspects.

Number one, in terms of business model diversification, we are planning to introduce the first phase overhaul of subscription model, integration of Quick View, and the free subscription voucher giveaway feature. Secondly, to improve a streamer's broadcasting convenience, we aim to upgrade the external device dashboards, broadcasting station reorganization, and electronic assistant improvement features within this year. Lastly, for long-term projects, we will upgrade content personalization, algorithm logic, AI manager implementation, and broadcasting analytics to benefit both streamers and users.

In addition to these updates, we are planning various events, including Welcome Program Season Two. Additionally, we will participate in offline events like the G-Star game show to provide a space where users, our streamers, and the streamers from any other platforms can fully join and enjoy time together. This kind of opportunity will help expand our new brand's influence and reach.

Finally, the Global SOOP had its beta launch in June this year and is currently in the testing phase. We are incorporating streamer feedback for stabilization of this beta service. We are expanding direct interactions with game developers, publishers, and streamers to strengthen local content business partnerships.

Notably, after the finals of the Valorant Ascension Qualifiers Series Thailand, we hosted a gathering inviting local streamers, MCNs, and related B2B partners, including our current contract streamers of SOOP Global. As such, SOOP sees dynamic change as an opportunity, continuously innovating and expanding each quarter to solidify its position as a leading platform in the market for sure.

Next, I will present the second quarter's performance of 2024. Revenue in Q2 stood at KRW 106.5 billion , a 12% increase QoQ and a 23% growth YoY. Platform revenue for Q2 was KRW 82.8 billion , which is a 5% increase QoQ and 27% increase YoY, driven by higher engagement and improved ARPU. Advertising revenue for Q2 was KRW 22.7 billion , up 49% QoQ and 13% YoY.

In more detail, platform ad revenue rebounded with the launch of new games, increasing by 39% quarter-over-quarter, though it decreased by 17% YoY due to the continued slowdown in the advertising market. Content-based advertising also benefited from new game releases, growing 73% QoQ, but decreasing 4% YoY. Other ad revenue, including CTTD, grew by 11% QoQ and 282% YoY.

Next, let me walk you through operating expenses. Q2 operating expenses were KRW 73.2 billion , a 10% increase QoQ and a 16% increase YoY. The QoQ increase was primarily due to higher variable costs related to increased ad and platform revenue, while the YoY increase was driven by variable costs related to higher platform revenue and increased personnel expenses.

Next is a breakdown of the expenses by type. Variable costs, including paying charges, were KRW 13.7 billion , up 10% QoQ and 42% YoY, in line with platform revenue growth. Advertising related fee and charges were KRW 11.9 billion, up 69% QoQ and 56% YoY, reflecting the trend in ad revenue. Content production costs rose 6% QoQ, but fell YoY due to the non-recurrence of large-scale esports league production from last year, falling 75% YoY to KRW 1.7 billion.

Fixed costs included personnel expenses of KRW 23 billion, up 2% QoQ and 19% YoY. Fees and charges for broadcasting rights and others were KRW 5.9 billion, down 8% QoQ, but up 16% YoY. Streamer support costs were KRW 2.6 billion, increasing 32% QoQ and 39% YoY due to the recognition of contracts with old Twitch streamers and partner streamer incentives. Cost for a dedicated line decreased 3% QoQ, but increased 23% YoY to reach KRW 4.1 billion. Lastly, other expenses rose 3% QoQ and 11% YoY to KRW 4.4 billion.

Q2 operating profit stood at KRW 33.3 billion, up 17% QoQ and 41% YoY. This was mainly driven by operational leverage gained from rapid platform revenue growth, reduced content production costs, and delayed global budget execution, resulting in an operating profit margin of 31.3%. Net profit for Q2 was KRW 28.3 billion, a 15% increase QoQ and a 25% increase YoY. Finally, please refer to the annual financial statements, and this concludes my presentation. Thank you very much.

Anya Ssuzi
Streamer, SOOP

Thank you for that overview. During that presentation, we had questions flooding in, so let's dive right into the Q&A session. Cha Min Uh from Goldman Sachs has two questions. First of all is a question about the short-term momentum. Leading from Q2, what is the Star Balloon trend in July?

Jung Chan-yong
CEO, SOOP

This is almost the last day. It is the last day of July, which is the beginning of Q3, and there hasn't been a lot of change. The momentum has maintained at very good levels. It's too early to predict the entire quarterly performance, but as of now, things are on schedule and are as good as it was in the previous quarter.

Anya Ssuzi
Streamer, SOOP

Next is about competition. Engagement may be a little bit lighter, but it seems that user volume itself could be significant from the competitor's perspective. I'm curious whether you think that the platforms have different characteristics and features or different focuses in terms of the user base. What do you think will be the change in traffic? Do you think the traffic will change? How do you think we can attract new traffic to SOOP? What will be the differentiating factor?

Jung Chan-yong
CEO, SOOP

The second question is very well pinpointed and very well put. As the final decision maker, this is a very important point, so let me just walk you through my thoughts. With Twitch exiting the Korean market, Twitch's traffic has flown partially to SOOP and the other to CHZZK. So it's been sort of polarized. That was the situation at the beginning of the year, and we look at the trend up to this point.

Based on MUV, CHZZK has a significant portion. But if we look at the peak or average concurrent viewership, we have a lot more strength and advantages there. So we're doing a lot well there. So the overall volume itself is more meaningful on CHZZK's side. They can be a competitor. In our competition with CHZZK, we need to devise strategies and map out ways, business strategies of how we can bring in and attract traffic from CHZZK.

On the business side, the structure is a little bit different, but ultimately, in the end, it's traffic that we need to bring into SOOP. From 2013 to 2015, AfreecaTV was the sole and only player. Of course, there were some businesses that branched out, and that was the beginning of this market becoming a little bit more segmented. I learned a very big lesson about change back then.

Streamers and users, this is a community that is active on our platform, and facilitating that interaction and engagement is our role. New users, younger users, up-and-coming users, regardless of gender, of age, these users need to be attracted to our platform. In order to do that, we need to continue to change and innovate. Internally, up until last year, the business side and operational side of changes that we have undergone are extremely significant. It could have been targeted to users' needs, streamers' needs, but in a variety of ways, we've revamped from communication-based broadcasting to e-sports platforms where everyone and anyone can join in in the events.

With our rebranding, the G-Star end of the year award ceremony, these are all of part and parcel of our initiatives to raise awareness about what we do and bring in more users. We have a lot in the pipeline up until the end of this year, and we want to leverage all of that we have planned so that the platform, SOOP, can continue to bring in new users, new streamers onto our platform.

On the upside, the previous Twitch streamers, the top streamers, have come onto and have onboarded onto our platform. The majority opinion, the consensus was among them that AfreecaTV is better than they expected, and that their voices are actually heard at AfreecaTV, and that their needs are met. That's the feedback that we've gotten.

For every individual streamer and user, we want to create a nice channel, a nice avenue. As a community, we want to make sure that we have a platform that can continue to change, that can continue to be flexible and agile in order to continue to bring in that inflow of new users and streamers.

Anya Ssuzi
Streamer, SOOP

Thank you very much for that amazing answer to such sharp and pointy questions. Next comes from Shin Eun-jung from DB Financial Investment. The first question is, what is the outlook for the ads performance the second half of the year? The second question is what is the outlook for the expenses, specifically labor cost trend, Paris Olympics coverage cost in the Q3, and the G-Star related cost in the last quarter?

Jung Chan-yong
CEO, SOOP

I'll cover the first question and leave the second one to Ellen. For the third quarter, the ads market is still quite shrunk, and we cannot be totally free from that. We're not giving up. I would believe that internally, the fourth quarter was going to be our main focus for the ads business. Clearly, we are targeting the growth of the ads business within SOOP. We're going to do our best, everything we can to make that happen. Having said that, I'm not going to promise you that there's going to be dramatic growth compared to the last year because of the downturn in overall ads market in this country. We plan on making certain aspects of our target to be achieved by the end of this year.

Jeon Kyunghee
Manager, SOOP

To the second question. Now for the costs. Yes, you mentioned the labor costs and the Paris Olympic and G-Star. For the personal expenses, the labor expenses, not much is likely to change. The first quarter is always the one that we have a lot of the recruiting. Usually the labor cost is focused and concentrated in the first quarter. The second and the third and the fourth quarter is pretty much of an organic and natural one.

For the relay, the broadcasting of the Olympics, we're not able to reveal, and that's why I won't be able to give you any details on that. Whenever there's a World Cup and any other big events, this particular Paris Olympic is relatively less cost, especially compared to the last or previous Olympics. Our Korean team isn't doing all that great, so I guess compared to the previous Olympics, we are paying less for this broadcasting rights. No worries on that. I would say we can be even more efficient with the money spent on that.

As for G-Star, in the past we've had G-Stars, and approximately KRW 1.5 billion was spent for each G-Star event. Things have changed with higher inflations nowadays, so you can factor that in as to calculate this year's G-Star events. We don't have the exact number, so it'll be slightly more than the previous expenses.

Another thing to add is, globally, we had some plans to have some money spent until the second quarter, but we are delaying that expenses until the third and fourth. For G-Star, we're expecting about 30% increase because of the inflations, and we have some more added to the G-Star. Have you been to G-Star, Anya Ssuzi?

Anya Ssuzi
Streamer, SOOP

No.

Jeon Kyunghee
Manager, SOOP

This is a great opportunity. In Busan, we have great booth and there will be amazing events out there. Yeah, please do bring your entourage and come to the event.

Anya Ssuzi
Streamer, SOOP

All right. Thank you very much.

Jung Chan-yong
CEO, SOOP

Next question, please.

Anya Ssuzi
Streamer, SOOP

Yu Incheol from Citibank asked about the Q2 paying user trend, the reason behind the Q2 MUV YoY and QoQ decline, and Q2 activity indicators, metrics, as well as DAU and duration time.

Jung Chan-yong
CEO, SOOP

First of all, regarding the paying users, the absolute figure has been maintained at similar levels compared to Q2. The platform revenue increase in Q2 mainly came from ARPU. Paying users in the previous quarter compared to at that time, QoQ increased, and that was significant. In Q2, the reason behind MUV decline. Let me get to that. We have two versions that we provided about traffic or MUV. We gave you different calculation methods, the old one and the new one. In the new version, there is more volatility or variability. Let me get to the reason behind that.

In the past, what we've done was we only calculated PC and mobile app traffic, but this time around, with the new version, we've also included the mobile web users in our traffic calculations. But with the mobile app users, they tend to be lighter users. That was one of the reasons. In Q2, there wasn't a big event. That was why the big event triggered or led influx didn't happen then. The competition missions or other activities that can leverage CK, our own proprietary contents, were a little bit lacking in Q2. In the second half of the year, we have a lot more prepared in the pipeline, and we have a lot of big events that are upcoming. MUV will rebound with the contents that we've prepared.

With the activity metrics, as I said before, all of the activity metrics and indicators are improving as time goes by, especially duration time. In terms of duration time, we have the highest duration time compared to any other platform out there, and it continues to grow and improve. These activity indicators, the broadcasting numbers, the simultaneous broadcasting numbers continue to rise. The previous Twitch streamers' activity and broadcasting indicators on our platform is also extremely good. In our eyes, it's very positive.

Anya Ssuzi
Streamer, SOOP

Thank you. Okay, I think there's another few questions here. All right. From Samsung Securities, Mr. Oh Donghwan has posed this question. Right now for the Global SOOP platform, tech testing is currently underway. What is the timeline for Global SOOP to be fully enabled and activated?

Jung Chan-yong
CEO, SOOP

Yes, the beta version of Global SOOP has been launched. Beta version by nature is really focused on the streaming and make sure that we offer great quality and that there's no halts in the middle of the simulcast broadcasting. In Korea, we have many service features which aren't available for this global beta version. For example, we have TTS in Korean version. That's not available for the global version just yet. Again, this kind of functions like TTS is very important for streamer and users to the entire community.

We're going to work hard to make sure that these features can be added to the global beta version in the Q3 and Q4 and down the road. Ms. Jeon Kyunghee mentioned already about the Ascension, the streamer party as well, and I actually went to Bangkok last weekend because of those. Including the ambassador streamers, we had about 130 streamers and partners. I guess a total of 200, including all the stakeholders. There was a network party there in Bangkok last weekend. Once we started the global business, we knew that we had to have a platform to really do something in full swing. It was the first time really get to the ground and see what's happening there myself. It was a great learning for me.

First thing I learned was that the Valorant Ascension finals was quite similar to what I saw here in Korea. At the network party, I could see the relationship with the streamers, with the other partners. They had great expectations, and they had their own ideas about what to expect from us. I see all of that. It takes time to establish and really solidify the platform. In order for us to get to the goal earlier and faster, we need to have a great partnership with those people. It was a great time to make conversations with them, see what they're thinking, and what they want. Thailand is the base camp for the global business for us, and there are three streamers who have created a company, and we've acquired this company to bring our global business to the next level.

I think that was a brilliant idea there, because this company by the three great streamers are the CEOs of the SOOP Thailand. At the streamer party there, we could see them communicating and interacting with the Thai audience. Looking at them, I could see that these people will do a great job, and we have a strong relationship, strong partnership with the Thai audience and the global audience, of course, to start with. If we can add just the right features and functionalities and really focus on the P2P there, then I have no doubt that in no time, at least in Thailand, we will really position ourselves in a very, very nice place.

Anya Ssuzi
Streamer, SOOP

All right. Now that you mentioned Global SOOP, I do have one question in relation to that. As a streamer myself, the simulcast is something of a great interest for me. I have my signature contents, and in the music category, there aren't that many competitors, to be honest with you. In the Global SOOP, if I can do the simulcast on the Global SOOP, that'd be amazing, because music, it's something that is universal around the world.

What I'm doing is what we call the Healing SOOP, Healing Forest. I invite other singers.

Jung Chan-yong
CEO, SOOP

I'm aware of it.

Anya Ssuzi
Streamer, SOOP

Well, I'm honored. That's great that you know the contents of the business partners, like myself, anyways. If you can maybe make myself available in the simulcast for the Global SOOP, that would be amazing. Do I need to do anything to be part of that, or can anybody just do it, or what?

Jung Chan-yong
CEO, SOOP

Right now, we do get the application because the platform within Thailand is mainly activated and driven by the Thai contents, the local contents there, obviously. In Thailand, there are great users and Thai streamers. The community is being built at this moment, which means that the Korean content or content from the Korean streamers is not something that I want to push to the Thai audience at this point. We do have an amazing K-content, and we're not trying to export this, though, to the other countries. We want the Thai local content to be strong in and of itself, and then interact on an equal footing with the Korean content. We're cautious about exporting ideas.

Another thing is, if the Korean content were to be simulcasted to the Thai audience, it must be received well, only then it's meaningful. But in order for that to happen, I don't think the Thai community is just strong enough yet, so we are trying to find the right timing.

Anya Ssuzi
Streamer, SOOP

I hope that our contents can be simulcast in that good timing.

Jung Chan-yong
CEO, SOOP

Music is a universal language, so I truly believe that music content can be shared and be well-received.

Anya Ssuzi
Streamer, SOOP

Yes, I will try my best as well, so thank you for that answer. Next, Ahn Jaemin from NH Investment & Securities asks, "The others category in ad revenue and subsidiary earnings are looking good. Were there any unique circumstances that drove this growth and any updates?"

Jung Chan-yong
CEO, SOOP

Go ahead.

Jeon Kyunghee
Manager, SOOP

Subsidiary earnings, I think that he's talking about CTTD. What about others? CTTD, what about the others?

Jung Chan-yong
CEO, SOOP

The others category in ad revenue. This is related to our subsidiary ad agency. It's an 11% QoQ increase. No special circumstances, it's just that our subsidiary CTTD's performance and earnings improved. Because it's an ad agency, there are some seasonalities, but it's not that big of a company, so there is a little bit of up and down. CTTD is an ad agency, and it's also a web agency. The web agency business is very stable.

The partnership network that it has been really tried and tested for a long period of time, and so based on that stable web revenue, we also have on top of that, the ad revenue. CTTD is not a big company, but it really is quality. It's quality-based, it's a really solid and robust company, if we look at the earnings especially. How it ties in with our overall ad business and how we can create synergies out of this is one of the tasks that we're looking into to improve upon.

Anya Ssuzi
Streamer, SOOP

Thank you for that answer. Maybe then I can ask a question. I'm probably asking too many questions, but anyways. I believe virtual is a hot thing, but equipment is quite expensive. Just not so seriously, I have one pretty image and then hide my face behind and change my voices and sing there. But I thought maybe the virtual streamer can be a thing for me. I can have my secondary character. They call it the alter ego or the secondary characters. Maybe I'm thinking that could be something. If so, could there be any support from SOOP?

Jung Chan-yong
CEO, SOOP

Yes. When it comes to virtual category, I think it definitely is a trend already. Virtual has its own unique beauty and appeal, and that's why we're making huge investments for this. What you just mentioned, it's something that we internally discussed actually, because there are virtual streamers already, but there are those who are regular non-virtual streamers who are interested in also having a secondary account to become virtual streamers at the same time. For that purpose, maybe SOOP can offer some kind of support. We're thinking about this. That does not mean we can allow for everybody to have a secondary account, because that can be some other issues.

You know, there are many well-known streamers like yourselves, and if you can publicly say that, "I'm going to have a secondary virtual studio," that's fine. So you say, okay, I'm a singer here, I have my own character, but just to add another layer of fun, I'm going to have another account, and then I'm going to have a virtual account there. Like a double one, double accounts. Like a different subcategory within your own channel. Something like that, if you can make it very publicly and officially, that is something we are shedding positive light on, so we can maybe add some kind of support there.

Anya Ssuzi
Streamer, SOOP

That is great. Virtual characters are growing in number than human characters, so I am quite interested in that as well. Maybe I will make that happen with the support from the SOOP platform. There is another question that just popped up from Hana Securities. There are two questions. The first one is if you compare with the paralyzed structure with Twitch last year, were there any meaningful changes in ad unit prices? Or do you think that the marketing execution rate drop was the main reason behind that? Are there any increase in contacts with advertisers other than game companies?

Jung Chan-yong
CEO, SOOP

When you are talking about unit prices, the change in unit price has not really been that big. That has been one of my frustrations because in the ad business, in order for the ad business to grow, the volume of ads, the quantity of ads need to increase, the quality of ads, moving from small medium enterprise ad agencies and then to larger ones, moving towards the larger ones to get that quality. It is that price point that needs to move, but there have not been any meaningful changes in unit price.

I think that we need to come up with better ad solutions. It has been about four years since we have implemented AAM. The strong ad parts of AAM is a little bit lacking, so I think that the first solution here is improving ad solutions and also coming up with the unique proprietary ad products. The decrease in marketing fee execution by gaming companies has been a big hit. Given that landscape and environment, the gaming company's ad volume has taken a hit, and as was mentioned in the second question, that is why we are continuing to contact non-gaming company advertisers. For that to really come to fruition, I think it needs to be at least in Q4 and onwards.

In Q2, there has been a decline, and so beginning from there, we have continued to really contact and engage with non-gaming company advertisers. For that to become visible, it takes a bit of time, about half a year. By Q4, I believe that the results of our efforts to contact non-gaming companies will come to fruition.

Anya Ssuzi
Streamer, SOOP

Thank you very much. I wonder if there are more questions. No, not yet? A question from me again, if that's okay. Now, there are many those that are coming from Twitch. We have the new streamers and they come with their own group of fans and I know SOOP offered quite a lot of advantages to those that made their way to SOOP from Twitch. What were the benefits like and how was it received, and what other benefits do you plan to offer to these people? Do we have data to back that up?

Jung Chan-yong
CEO, SOOP

Let me see. Maybe I can give an answer myself. Qualitatively, it's very meaningful. Let me tell you this first and foremost. AfreecaTV, compared to other platforms, I mean, to those that are coming from other platforms, I understand that we were quite a difficult name, meaning we did have hurdles for them to come and make their switch to our platform. But now that they are here, they see that it's not actually true. They thought, okay, the AfreecaTV users, I mean, the streamers and users are actually too aggressive and it's not easy to be there as a streamer. That was the perception and kind of a prejudice.

Some heads would say that the platform ourselves, like the management, aren't very nice, and sometimes they kind of wield their overwhelming power, but it's actually not true. They realize the management are really nice, and they can easily be accessible. There have been some, I guess, misunderstandings or prejudices around our platform. I understand there are some reasons for that kind of prejudice to have been built, but as of now, this could be wrong, and some are very misleading, and they realize when they make the switch to SOOP, that they were wrong on some parts.

Not only that, we are making our efforts with the communication platform, the channels, and we're making many programs so we can be very, very easily accessible and communicative and interactive with those streamers, which makes us quite stronger in terms of communication. Other platforms aren't like that at all, from what I know. Because other platforms just don't have the kind of human resource to do that.

We, our platform, have great manpower to be there when the streamers need to talk to us, and we've had experiences, and that's really the strength of ours. What I will tell you is that there are many streamers in our platform, the SOOP and it's important that we always meet their requirements, meet their expectations at the right time, at the right place, and that's what we plan to do and have been doing and will always aim of doing.

Anya Ssuzi
Streamer, SOOP

I invite many other platforms, I mean, the streamers from other platforms, and it's quite working very well, so that's why I'm asking this question. Second half of this year sounds very, very exciting. I wonder if there are any other questions. Not yet? Okay.

It doesn't seem like we have too many questions today. There were times when really questions were completely flooding in. We were bombarded with questions, so I was waiting for a lot of questions, but I think, yeah, the questions are at an end here. So maybe it's time to wrap things up.

All right, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for tuning into our earnings call today, and this is my first debut, actually. I hope I did good. It was an honor for me to walk you through our earnings call, and I will see you next time. Thank you very much.