(Yicai Global) Jan. 10 -- Tencent Holdings logged a nine-fold jump in revenue from livestreamed e-commerce on its TikTok-like platform Channels last year from the year before as the world’s largest gaming firm looks for alternative revenue streams.

Channels, which runs on Tencent’s instant messenger WeChat, improved its e-commerce infrastructure last year, connecting more brands and suppliers to give users more choice, the internet giant’s operating team said today. Clothing, food and cosmetics are best sellers in its streaming retail business, it added.

And more video creators are monetizing traffic. The number of streamers earning an income doubled in 2022, and the amount earned surged five-and-a-half times, Shenzhen-based Tencent said.

Tencent will invest more to support video creators, improve monetizing tools and increase incentives, it said.

Tencent will put more emphasis on Channels, which it launched in 2020, and promote its e-commerce function as video clips are eroding the amount of time people spend watching long-form videos and playing games, founder Pony Ma said last month.

Video plays based on AI recommendations on Channels surged four-fold in 2022 from a year earlier, play time jumped one-and-a-half times while the amount of time that users spend on it has reached 80 percent of that of its other group sharing function Moments, it said.

Tencent’s gaming revenue has been sliding since China started to crack down on the amount of time minors spend playing games online in the second half of 2021. Gaming revenue in the China market slumped 7 percent in the third quarter last year from a year earlier to CNY31.2 billion (USD4.6 billion), dragging down total revenue by 2 percent to CNY140.1 billion (USD20.7 billion).

Editor: Kim Taylor