[Digital Today reporter Ho-jung Lee (이호정)] Naver's streaming platform CHZZK set a record for peak concurrent viewers by broadcasting the third group-stage match between South Korea and South Africa at the 2026 FIFA North America World Cup.

On June 25, Naver said CHZZK's peak concurrent viewers reached about 4,938,000 during the South Africa match, which began at 10 a.m. that day. The figure surpassed both the Czech Republic match with 4,825,000 and the Mexico match with 4,780,000. As the final group match affected whether the team would advance to the round of 32, viewing demand was seen as concentrated even during a weekday morning timeslot.

South Korea lost 0-1 to South Africa and remained third in the group. After finishing the group stage with 1 win and 2 losses, South Korea is in a situation where its advancement to the round of 32 will be decided through a comparison of points and goal difference with other third-placed teams. With the number of participating teams expanded to 48 for this World Cup, some third-placed teams with strong results can also reach the tournament stage.

CHZZK's World Cup popularity did not end with live viewing. As of June 24, the cumulative number of streamers who ran "watch together" streams was 1,422, while the number of "watch together" broadcasts reached 4,707. A range of celebrities and experts participated, including partner streamers Handongsuk and Pungwolryang, as well as Lee Kyung-kyu, football-specialist channel Shoot for Love, Esuta TV, idol group Rescene, virtual idol Plave and Enoch Sal, spreading a community-style viewing culture. Cumulative views for World Cup-related clip content also surpassed 310 million.

Naver explained it maintained broadcast stability even amid large-scale traffic through an always-on monitoring system based on real-time playback quality (QoE) data.

Whether the momentum continues is linked to South Korea advancing to the round of 32. If South Korea's progression to the tournament is confirmed, consumption of CHZZK's broadcast traffic and follow-on content such as clips and highlights is expected to regain momentum.

CHZZK will continue to secure major intellectual property (IP) even after the North America World Cup. It plans to exclusively stream online the global esports event EWC, which opens on July 6, and it also plans to secure major content such as the Olympics and the LCK at the platform level to expand streamer programming material and continue bringing in users.