Twitch might be testing private, subscriber-only streams to see how t🗹hey work out.
Currently, Twitch allows anyone to view any channel they want, whenever they want🍌. Viewers won’t get nearly as many features as subscribers, such as being able to “cheer” on the streamer or keep track of various channels, but by and large, the site works very similarly to YouTube.
That migꦅht be about to change. A new system being tested would prevent non-subscribers from view🌸ing a channel and instead show them a short preview of what they’re missing. Then they’d be asked to subscribe to the channel for more.
The info comes courꦚtesy of Streamer News which looked at the “hgg_cheering_test” account.
But why close off streams to subscribers only? That has to do with Twitch’s monetization strategy. Streamers earn revenue per subscriber and not per view, so forcing viewers to become subscribers would increase a streamer’s potential revenue. It would also force more people to a𓃲t least pay for Twitch’s minimum subscriber fee, which is $4.99 pe﷽r month.
However, some Twไitch partners earn cash from selling ad space, and limiting their streams to subscribers only would almost certainly cut down on their viewer numbers, and thereby also cut down on any potential ad revenue.
According to , the new subscriber-only Twitch would be completely optional, and no st🃏reamer would be required to lock their account to be subscribers only. Twitch already has several features that encourage subscribers, such as subscriber-only chat and allowing subscribers to skip ads, both of which are also up to the streamer’s discretion.
Critics of the mov🌜e note that this risks Twitch turning into a private cam site, which is often associated with certain unsavory activities (or very savory, depending on your point of view).
Twitch hasn’t confirmed anything as of yet, so this all might be over nothing. Esports journalist Rod Breslau notes that this🙈 could just be Twitch testing a wider rollout of Overwatch League’s All Access Pass features.
But who can say? We’ll have to wait and see what Twitch does be🐭fore we all start panicking.