Zach Bussey
Creator and live‑streaming industry reporter; Twitch/YouTube policy, events, opportunities for streamers/creators.
Twitch's House of Dragon Event Limited to USA Only
It's been pointed out to me that Twitch's House of Dragon event on June 17th, which they are promoting to creators globally, is, in fact, limited to the USA, per the Official Rules.
Preroll Ads Boost Retention, Complaints Overstated, Says Twitch CPO
Twitch's CPO, Mikey Minty, suggests Preroll Ads may actually be a better option for some creators, as the perceived negatives are overstated. "Even though community feedback on this point is consistently loud, we look at it from the perspective of retention...
YouTube Revives DMs, Expands Globally
YouTube DMs are back. As of yesterday, YouTube has expanded the in-app video sharing and messaging feature to the U.S. and other global locations.
Twitch Power Up Now Integrates Streamlabs Alert Suite
Twitch Power Up now works with Streamlabs Alert Box, Goals, Stream Boss, Event List, End Credits, Tip Jar, Stream Labels, and more. #ad
Riot Revives Canceled Sub‑gift Promo Despite Prior Backlash
The first test will be with Riot Games (2XKO, Valorant, LoL), where gifting 5 subs will grant at least 1 Bonus Sub. Riot and Twitch tried nearly this EXACT promotion earlier this year, as a zero-pay sponsorship. But canceled it due...
Twitch Tests Category-Wide Bonus Sub Promotions, Creators Opt-In
Twitch will soon test Category-Wide Promotions, which will allow advertisers to offer Bonus Subs across an entire category. In most cases, it will be Gift X Subs, Get Y Bonus Subs. Creators will be opted in by default, but can opt out.
Twitch Adds Watch Streak Milestones to Sidebar
Twitch is experimenting with showing streams with a Watch Streak Milestone in the sidebar if you watch today.
Kick Launches Creator Media Kits for Verified Streamers
Kick plans to roll out Creator Media Kits in July. The media kits will provide a summary of a creator's 30/60/90 performance and give creators an easy way to share a link with brands. They will be available to Verified and...
Twitch Adds Auto‑generated Captions to Clips
Twitch now allows viewers to add captions to Clips. Captions are auto-generated and currently do not appear to be editable.
Amazon Turns to Third‑Party Sellers to Boost Twitch Advertising
Amazon Ads is reportedly leaning on third-party companies to sell ads on Twitch. Marketers hesitate to advertise on Twitch due to brand-safety concerns and view it as too niche. Details: https://content-naf.emarketer.com/amazon-taps-third-parties-sell-twitch-alexa-ads (Article also covers Alexa, but who cares about that.)
Twitch Pushes Stories by Bundling Stream Clips for Catch‑up
Twitch's Stream Summary now encourages streamers to add all their clips from the stream to Stories. The goal appears to be helping viewers "Catch Up" if they miss a stream and increasing demand for the Stories feature, which few use...
New “Clip That” Auto‑formats Vertical Gameplay Clips
The "Clip That" button in streamers' Quick Actions now automatically detects gameplay and camera and formats the clip for the Vertical Feed.
Twitch Caps Viewbotting, Top Streamers Lose 88k Viewers
Twitch's viewership cap for persistent viewbotting is being implemented. Based on my analysis, about 8 of the top 250 streamers have clear viewership caps (of those that have gone live today). Combined, it represents ~88,000 fewer viewers than their combined 90-day...
Amazon Ads Debut AI Tools for Twitch Sponsorships
Amazon Ads to launch two AI Twitch Sponsorship tools at Twitchcon. Campaign Assist will analyze how creators say things during sponsorships and prompt them on things they need to say, change tone, etc. Chat Sentiment Analysis will process all chat messages to...
Twitch Trials Rotating Leaderboards for Subs, Bits, Clips
Twitch is testing cycling through Gifted Sub, Bits, and Clip Views leaderboards above chat. I've sped it up in the video, but the actual time between scrolls is ~40 seconds.