Romanian gamers don’t watch TV – inStreamly x New Game + Survey report
We surveyed 200 viewers and 57 streamers in Romania to find out how gaming audiences consume live content, how they feel about brand sponsorships, and what that means for brands looking to enter or expand in the Romanian market.
The results are clear. This is not a passive, casual audience. And they are far more open to advertising than most brand managers assume.
Download the full report here →
The audience is heavy, committed, and unreachable by traditional media
Romanian stream viewers are not dipping in for 20 minutes on a Sunday. 78.5% watch streams for at least 5 hours per week. More than a quarter (28.5%) watch 20 hours or more weekly. This is consistent, repeated exposure to creator content, not passive scrolling.
At the same time, 63.5% of viewers play games 10 or more hours per week. This is an audience that is not just watching gaming — they are living it. Only 6% of respondents don’t play games at all and only consume creator content.
The TV picture is equally significant for brands planning media strategy. 50.5% of Romanian stream viewers either have no TV at home or watch less than one hour per week. Only 10% watch TV for 20+ hours per week. If your brand’s Romanian media plan is built around broadcast, you are structurally missing this audience.
Ad blockers are high — but creator-led formats bypass them
49.5% of Romanian gaming viewers use ad blockers. For brands running standard display or pre-roll campaigns, that is half the potential audience already unreachable before a single impression is served.
Creator-led formats tell a different story. 64.5% of viewers react positively to ads inside streams. The acceptance of advertising here is not despite the context, but it is because of it. Viewers accept brand messages when they come through a creator they trust, as part of supporting that creator’s channel.
This is the core tension brands need to understand: standard digital advertising is being actively blocked, while creator-embedded sponsorships are being actively welcomed.
The audience is not just watching: they are participating
Beyond view time, Romanian gaming audiences are engaged across multiple touchpoints that extend campaign reach beyond a single live broadcast.
82.5% actively or sometimes participate in stream chat. 79% follow streamers on social media. 57.5% watch VODs regularly or when they miss a live session.
For brands, this means that a campaign running inside a live stream is not a one-time media buy. It creates visibility across chat activations, social following, and VOD replay, with the same audience, but across multiple sessions.
Streamers are commercially open, and their viewers back them
On the creator side, the data is even more striking. 92.9% of surveyed Romanian streamers say their viewers react positively or very positively to sponsorships. Not a single streamer in the survey reported negative viewer reaction to brand collaborations.
Streamers are commercially motivated but not purely price-driven. When choosing which brand collaborations to accept, earning potential ranked first at 33.3%, but product and service quality came close at 29.8%, followed by fit with their personal image at 19.3%. Brands that show up with a quality product and a relevant brief will consistently outperform those that just offer the highest fee.
Brand fit matters to Romanian streamers, but they are flexible. 82.5% say fit is at least moderately important, but only 5.3% would accept only perfectly aligned brands. The clear implication: non-endemic brands (FMCG, fashion, finance, beauty, automotive) have real access to this ecosystem, as long as the campaign is adapted to the creator’s tone and audience.
The most attractive categories for Romanian streamers are entertainment (86%) and technology (86%), followed by FMCG (66.7%), fashion (63.2%), education (63.2%), finance (54.4%), and beauty (54.4%). The range demonstrates that gaming streaming in Romania is not a niche media channel. It is a broad consumer audience.
Platform landscape: Twitch leads, but Kick is a real factor
Among viewers, Twitch comes first at 51.5%, but Kick has established a significant presence at 31.0%, with YouTube at 17.5%. Among streamers, Twitch is the dominant activation base at 51.5%, with YouTube at 31.0% and Kick at 17.5%.
Notably, viewer and streamer platform distributions differ. Kick is much stronger on the viewer side than among active streamers. Any Romania-specific strategy should account for this split rather than defaulting to Twitch-only activation.
What this means for brands
Romanian streaming communities are not a future opportunity. They are ready now.
The audience is deeply embedded in gaming culture, disconnected from traditional broadcast media, and spending consistent, meaningful time with creators. Nearly half use ad blockers — but the same people actively welcome brand messages when they come through a trusted creator, integrated naturally into the stream.
Streamers are commercially open, credibility-conscious, and flexible across brand categories. And both sides of the ecosystem — viewers and creators — are aligned: brand collaborations belong here.
The strongest campaigns in this market will not look like media buys. They will look like content that fits, partnerships that feel native, and brand presence that earns its place in the community rather than interrupting it.
Download the full Romanian Streamers & Viewers Survey 2026 →
The survey was conducted by inStreamly x New Game+ among 200 Romanian stream viewers and 57 Romanian streamers. All results are presented in aggregate form.
