Twitch Changing Pay Structure, Looks For Profits in Streaming Platform - Report

Twitch - Sputnik International, 1920, 27.04.2022
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Twitch, the world’s largest live streaming platform, was purchased by Amazon in 2014 for $970 million. Amazon promised to keep the platform independent. The tech giant was initially focused on growth and not profits but now, nearly eight years after its purchase, Amazon seemingly wants the platform to become more profitable.
In an effort to boost profits, Twitch is reportedly considering changing its pay structure for creators.
The new structure is still under consideration, according to Bloomberg, who spoke to sources inside the company under the condition of anonymity. If the plan is instituted, which could happen as early as this summer, top streamers will see their portion of subscription revenue drop from 70% to 50%.
Streamers can also bring in revenue by running ads on their streams, currently $3.50 to $5 for 1,000 impressions. They have experimented with other models recently but the proposed model is said to be more lucrative for streamers.
Ads are controversial on the streaming platform. They often cut away from the action, causing those who do not subscribe to miss crucial parts of the stream.
Twitch is primarily focused on streaming video game gameplay, though it has experimented with other activities, such as billiards and board games, in the past.
Twitch logo on a sign - Sputnik International, 1920, 14.04.2022
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The proposed changes could generate more revenue for Amazon but also risk alienating some of Twitch’s most popular streamers. If the changes are implemented, Bloomberg says that Twitch may allow its largest streamers, most of whom are part of its “partnership” program, to exit their exclusivity deal and stream on other platforms, such as YouTube.
This is not the first sign of changing times at Twitch this year. Last month, Bloomberg reported on a mass “exodus” of top executives and employees from the company. Many of the fleeing employees cited a change in company strategy as the reason for their departure.
“The customer was the content creator. If you’re not passionate about the product, you’re not really looking at it from the customer’s lens,” a former employee told Bloomberg at the time “and so you don’t have the same level of empathy.”
In October of last year, hackers leaked Twitch’s source code and the revenue numbers for its top streamers. The hackers taunted Jeff Bezos in a 4chan post announcing the leak.
“Jeff Bezos paid $970 million for this, we’re giving it away FOR FREE,” the post read.
Twitch was originally launched as Justin.tv and was a general interest streaming platform. TwitchTV was spun off of it in 2011, focusing on gaming. The two merged together under the name Twitch in 2013 after TwitchTV far surpassed Justin.tv. It currently has 51,500 streamers in its partnership program and over 8.5 million streamers overall. Last month, it averaged over 2.6 million concurrent viewers according to Twitchtracker.com.
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