Twitch rumors point to reduced streamer revenue and more ad placement

Streamers express concern at potential changes

Career streamers are raising concerns following the publishing of a new report which suggests that Twitch is considering making drastic changes to the way revenue is earned on its mainline streaming service Twitch.tv.

According to the report — published by Bloomberg — Twitch is under pressure from owner Amazon to increase its profitability and, as such, is looking at numerous ways to bring more revenue into the company. Unfortunately, many of the rumored ideas, as leaked by those close to the matter, are not painting a happy picture for both Twitch viewers and its core streamers — some of whom have made comfortable full-time careers out of content production.

Of chief concern is the possibility that Twitch may scale back the subscription revenue of its top-partnered streamers, cutting the revenue earned by each subscription from 70% to 50%. The latter figure is the typical earning rate for all streamers on Twitch, but those who are among Twitch’s top earners have been able to bargain for a higher cut in return for site exclusivity. According to Bloomberg, the revenue reduction would free up streamers from said exclusivity, allowing them to stream on other sites alongside Twitch.

The other supposed scheme would see Twitch push streamers to run more ads on their live respective channels. Streamers who are more open to placing ads within their broadcasts would be incentivized to do so by various means that are currently undecided. Summarized, the report presents a scenario in which Twitch is determined to make more profit as a business, which will inevitably require cost-cutting/revenue-making practices applied at the user end of the spectrum.

Unsurprisingly, several notable streamers have since voiced their concerns on social media, though some have welcomed the possibility of dropping exclusivity from the top streaming contracts. It should be reiterated that neither Amazon nor Twitch itself has released any statement confirming these plans.