Amanda Schnaider
October 17, 2022 – 6:00 am
Twitch has not allowed its streamers to live stream on other platforms such as Facebook Gaming and YouTube. However, in August of this year, that changed.. In order to give streamers more flexibility to explore different, off-platform features, Twitch pulled this exclusivity, though it still believes “using Twitch is better for creating and interacting with audiences.”
Twitch streamers can now stream to other networks (Credit: Reading)
The platform developed its Partner Program because it understood the importance of streamers focusing exclusively on Twitch. But over time, it recognized that many of its streamers interact with its communities on other platforms, so it updated its policy. “We will no longer be imposing this part of the contract, which we will update early next year.”
According to the platform, the change applies to most of its partners around the world. “Creators can view the partnership agreement on the Twitch Dashboard, and if they don’t receive any notification of our additional agreements, it applies to them. If creators can’t see the agreement or want to s To ensure the changes apply, they can contact Partner Help for assistance, according to the company.
The end of the exclusivity of live broadcasts was something much requested by the streamers of the platform, due to the dissatisfaction of some of them with their contracts. Even since April of this year, there were rumors that Twitch would change its partnership agreement, which, in fact, happened.
In addition to the end of exclusivity, now, when the streamer exceeds the collection of 100,000 US$ with subscribers, 50% of this amount will go to the professional and 50% to the platform, until then this distribution was 70 %, 30%, as always. will continue for streamers with less than $100,000 earned from channel subscriptions.
Advantages and disadvantages of ending exclusivity
According to Bernardo Mendes, Partner and Director of Games (CGO) at Druid Creative Gaming, there is a macro trend in the live streaming market to migrate from exclusive to semi-exclusive contracts. “It’s good because it reduces the cost of the platform while allowing the influencer to explore new monetization formats,” he analyzes.
From the perspective of content creators, the main benefit of forgoing exclusivity, according to 3C Gaming partner and Fluxo General Manager Matt Pereira, is the ability to create diverse content, with a variety of formats and for different audiences. . “That way the creator can identify what kind of content and behavior they have in different spaces,” he says.
Although it has more opportunities to work content with its audience, in different places, the end of exclusivity may also present a loss for creators, in the sense of no longer being an exclusive name of a certain network , points out Pereira. “It can have a negative impact from the point of view that the exclusivity gave him a natural security of income, a kind of commitment and commitment to the platform where he made his living, where he knew that there he would have a minimum estimate income”, is of the opinion.
In the opinion of partner 3C Gaming, one possible path for streamers is the production of specific and exclusive content for the platform, but without necessarily having the exclusivity of live streaming on this same channel. “Now is the time for creators to reinvent themselves to discover new ways to capitalize on the content they produce live.”
The end of exclusivity may only seem to be good for streamers, but Mendes, a Druid partner, understands that freeing streamers of this exclusivity can also be good for the platform itself. “By unleashing cross-platform live content presence, there is potential to attract a new streamer audience who want to follow them on Twitch as well, but aren’t quite there yet,” he projects. That is, with this measure, the platform can gain new viewers. On the other hand, as a drawback, he states that the streamer will be able to experiment with other content and monetization models, thus lowering the barrier of migration to other platforms.
