Twitch reveal changes to increase streamer payouts after criticism

Twitch has updated its ad revenue system to try and curb criticism about streamer payouts following a rumored partnership system change. The new version increases money earned through ads and opens it up to more streamers.

Twitch;s model and structure has been the topic of much discourse over the years. In particular, much comparison has been drawn between the Amazon-owned platform’s monetization policy versus other platforms like YouTube.

When changes were first rumored for the revenue split in 2022, they were met with backlash from both viewers and major content creators.

However, Twitch have announced they will be further developing their incentive program via increased advert payout — with no changes to subscriptions yet.

A June 14 blog post detailed how the platform plans to expand on the opt-in Ads Incentive Program (AIP) to include more creators, as well as give some streamers upwards of a 150% pay increase when they play specific ads.

“If they stream for a specific amount of hours in that month with a specific ad-density, they’ll receive a predetermined payout. Let the Ads Manager handle the ads and at the end of the month you get paid,” Twitch said, describing how the AIP works.

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Instead of a flat rate for every 1,000 ad views, streamers will now receive 55% of the revenue for every ad that runs on their streams.

While the AIP is still only available to selected streamers, Twitch affiliates will soon be able to get in on the program — starting in August it will expand to include qualifying affiliates.

Affiliates will get to remove pre-roll ads from their stream — a very controversial setup — if they agree to show three minutes of ads an hour. They’ll also get an increase in payouts too.

The new ad revenue agreement hasn’t pleased all streamers. Smaller broadcasters claim the ads will still negatively affect their streams without much payoff.

Others have suggested swapping to a pop-up ad model rather than overtaking the stream. However, no changes to how ads are displayed have been touted.