Earlier this week, a report from Bloomberg claimed that a panel of anonymous streamers had come forward to speak about massive changes Twitch is reportedly considering for the website. These moves would see Twitch slashing monthly subscription revenues for its top streamers from a 70% cut down to 50%, with the platform shifting gears to push ad revenue as the way for streamers to earn money, encouraging streamers to run multiple ads per hour for higher wages. While ads are a part of Twitch’s monetization model now, the new system would push ads even harder, and popular streamer Pokimane recently gave her thoughts on the move.
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A recent tweet from Pokimane gives her thoughts on the proposed changes to Twitch, offering criticisms against Twitch’s theoretical ad-based model. As an alternative to Twitch’s current system of running video ads that take viewers out of the stream for the ad’s duration, Pokimane suggested Twitch implement more on-screen ads like sidebars and underlays or even picture-in-picture ads, so viewers don’t miss part of the stream. Pokimane was adamant about the intrusiveness of Twitch’s video ads feeling that ads should not impede a viewer’s experience while also understanding their necessity.
While Twitch has not made an official announcement about the platform’s supposed shift to a more ad-based model, the platform would have precedent for implementing ads similar to Pokimane’s suggestion. Last summer saw the platform introduce less intrusive ads called “Stream Display Ads” appearing at the bottom of a stream that would still allow creators and the site to run ads while still allowing viewers to continue watching and not miss out on any of the stream. A similar low disruption strategy could help to persuade many streamers who are hesitant about running excessive ads for fear of alienating viewers.
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