Twitch has announced that it has made a big change to where Partners can stream their content. Twitch is one of the biggest platforms on the internet, managing to rope in millions of people on a daily basis with its wide array of content. Streamers can broadcast games, talk shows, and even movies that are on Amazon Prime, all while making money and curating an audience for themselves. Twitch is one of the most popular live streaming platforms out there, even inspiring other tech giants like Google to take cues from it and apply it to its own streaming platform on YouTube. This has resulted in a lot of competition between the two platforms with YouTube even signing contracts with some of Twitch’s biggest talent.
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Now, Twitch is trying to find a middle ground as YouTube increases the pressure. Twitch Partners with exclusivity deals were previously forbidden from streaming on other platforms such as YouTube and now, that’s changing. Twitch Partners can now live stream on YouTube and any other service they want under one condition. They are not allowed to stream on both platforms concurrently, so if they want to stream on YouTube, they’d have to end their broadcast on Twitch and move over. However, Twitch has granted permission to Partners to have simultaneous streams on non web-based platforms such as TikTok or Instagram. You can read Twitch’s official stance on the matter below.
“We do not allow simulcasting on web-based, Twitch-like services that support streaming for extended periods of time, such as YouTube and Facebook, because we believe engaging with two streams at once can lead to a sub-optimal experience for your community,” reads a Twitch FAQ. “However, we know many of you want to use other services to grow your community, so simulcasting on short form, mobile services, such as TikTok or Instagram Live, is allowed.”
Although it’s unlikely many Twitch Partners will change much of how they stream due to being unable to simulcast on YouTube, it’s a welcome addition. Whether these restrictions will continue to loosen remains to be seen, but it does indicate that YouTube and other services are really starting to put pressure on Twitch to make overdue changes.
What do you think of this change from Twitch? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @Cade_Onder.
