[Edaily Reporter Lee So-Hyun ] Naver’s (NAVER(035420)) streaming platform, Chizichik, set a new record for the highest number of concurrent viewers during its broadcast of the South Korean national team’s matches at the 2026 North and Central America World Cup. Observers say the platform has demonstrated its technical capabilities by stably handling a major live sports event that drew millions of viewers simultaneously.

According to Naver on the 25th, Chizich recorded a peak of 4,938,000 concurrent viewers during the broadcast of South Korea’s third group stage match against South Africa.

Although South Korea lost to South Africa, viewership was concentrated because the match was the final group stage game that would determine whether the team would advance to the Round of 32. It is believed that the number of concurrent viewers reached a record high as demand for live cheering surged even during the morning hours on a weekday.

This figure far exceeds six times Chijichik’s previous record of 760,000 concurrent viewers, set during last year’s “2025 League of Legends World Championship” prior to the World Cup. Following 4,825,000 concurrent viewers for the match against the Czech Republic and 4,780,000 for the match against Mexico, all three of South Korea’s matches—including the one against South Africa—recorded nearly 5 million concurrent viewers, continuing the unprecedented popularity of the World Cup.

Broadcasting the World Cup presents significant technical challenges due to the surge in traffic during specific time slots. It requires simultaneous management of traffic distribution, playback quality, minimizing buffering, reducing latency, and responding to real-time issues.

To address this, Naver implemented a real-time monitoring system based on real-time Quality of Experience (QoE) data for its Chizich World Cup broadcasts. This system tracks users’ playback status, buffering incidents, video quality, and connection flow in real time to adjust broadcast quality and traffic flow accordingly.

The capacity of the Content Delivery Network (CDN) was also significantly expanded compared to normal levels. A CDN is a technology that delivers video from servers located close to users, thereby reducing the load on central servers. Chizichik maintained a stable streaming environment while handling over 4.5 million concurrent users.

Low-latency streaming also served as the foundation for the growing culture of “watching together.” Chizichik reduced the time lag between streamers and viewers through its low-latency mode technology. Given the nature of soccer broadcasts, where chat reactions surge during goals or key refereeing decisions, minimizing video latency is directly linked to user engagement.

A community-based viewing culture has also spread rapidly. As of the 24th, a cumulative total of 1,422 streamers had hosted World Cup co-viewing sessions, with 4,707 such broadcasts recorded. Partner streamers such as Han Dong-sook and Pung Wol-ryang, as well as celebrities and experts like Lee Kyung-kyu and Shoot for Love, participated in these co-viewing sessions.

The cumulative view count for World Cup-related clip content has also surpassed 310 million. Key moments from live broadcasts are quickly turned into clips, and highlights and short videos are repeatedly played even after matches end, creating a structure where live content consumption continues well into the post-match period.

Naver is also using the World Cup as an opportunity to strengthen Chizich’s “Big IP” strategy. The company plans to secure high-demand content—such as the World Cup, the Olympics, the global esports tournament “EWC,” and the domestic League of Legends Pro League “LCK”—at the platform level to support streamers in creating broadcasts based on this content. Chizich is also scheduled to provide exclusive online coverage of the EWC, which kicks off on July 6.

Through this World Cup, Chizich has successfully proven its technical capabilities as a major live sports platform. Chizich, which had previously focused on game streaming, is now seen as having laid the groundwork to expand its esports and sports broadcasting IP by reliably handling a nationally significant event like the World Cup.

However, some analysts suggest that the sustainability of the World Cup’s positive impact depends on the performance of the South Korean national team. This is because user interest could quickly wane once the national team’s matches conclude. An industry insider stated, “Retaining the users attracted by the World Cup on the platform remains a challenge,” adding, “The influx from major events must lead to subsequent major IPs and a thriving streamer ecosystem for the benefits of technological investment and content acquisition to endure.”