Signal 3: Average Watch Duration. The total time viewers spend in your stream, averaged across the audience.

Why this matters separately from 30-second retention: 30-second retention measures the hook. Average watch duration measures sustained engagement throughout the broadcast. A streamer can have great 30-second retention but poor average duration if the middle of the stream loses viewers.

Healthy thresholds:

• 20+ minutes average watch duration = strong sustained engagement
• 10-20 minutes = average
• Under 10 minutes = the stream loses viewers in the middle

Pacing tactics that lift average duration:

• Vary content type every 20-30 minutes (gameplay → chat segment → tutorial → game).
• Build narrative arc through the stream (rising action toward a stream goal).
• Tease upcoming content ("we're going to the boss fight in 20 minutes").
• Use chat callbacks every 15-20 minutes that pull lurkers back into active viewing.
• Avoid long monotone segments where pacing flattens.

Algorithms watching for sustained attention reward streams that hold viewers through the middle, not just the open. Pacing is a craft.