Twitch Rolls Out New Mid-Roll Ads and People Hate It

By Marc Deschamps - September 15, 2020 06:59 pm EDT

In a surprising move, Twitch has started to place automated mid-roll ads during livestreams for some viewers. According to the company, this is meant to support the creators, but the concept has been poorly received, thus far. When the ads begin, the stream is muted and the image is shrunk, with the rest of the window being taken up by the ad. Across social media, users have reported that commercials are hurting their enjoyment of these streams, arguing that it takes away from the experience. It's unclear whether or not Twitch intends to make this a permanent feature, but fans seem to hope it gets dumped sooner, rather than later!

🔬 Starting today, we'll be testing automated mid-roll ads for some viewers. These ads will directly support the Creator and won't run if the viewer has had an ad break in that channel recently. Your feedback is welcomed to help shape this feature!

📚: https://t.co/UPXp1gk8zq
— Twitch Support (@TwitchSupport) September 14, 2020

What are your thoughts on the mid-roll ads? Have you encountered any yet? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!

Keep reading to see what fans are saying about mid-roll ads on Twitch!

Hey, we're watchin' over here!

what’s with twitch giving me ads in the middle of streams? like excuse me i’m watching this
— ☆ L A N A ☆ (@underscorelanaa) September 15, 2020

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This is a big concern for small streamers.

Are there any other options for streaming other than YouTube & FBG?

I'm already a nobody on twitch as is, & now y'all want to add more ads blocking more content. 😩😩😩😩😩😩 https://t.co/03HHAYcWne
— Tyrone (@your_HolyGrail) September 15, 2020

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It could easily lead to viewers leaving.

There are so many problems with this:

1. The viewer doesn’t know if the ad was run by the streamer or automatically by twitch
2. Viewers leave during ads. Doesn’t matter how long they play or when they play, if an ad plays, they leave
3. Streamers have no control over this ad
— Torsten Nogel (@WinglessValk) September 15, 2020

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Some are already looking at alternative options.

How often would a streamer need to run ads so that twitch won’t run them randomly?!?! @Twitch @TwitchSupport
— 🐍 (@xxKOBRAKONxx) September 15, 2020

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The frequency seems to be a major issue.

Really twitch not even 20min and got 2 ads already... What a load of BS
— TDMAcidCrash (@TDMAcidCrash) September 15, 2020

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This could be a tactic to get more streamers playing ads on their own...

So... this sounds like the platform is throwing its body around to force streamers into deliberately playing ads. "If you don't play the ads, we WILL play them for you".

There _has_ to be a better way to increase ad inventory, Twitch, cmon.
— Pedro Rasera (@raserapedro) September 15, 2020

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...and some are already planning to do just that.

The new ad announcement from twitch is why I run Ads manually because they won’t run during good gameplay/moments
— Mustafa AkA deltakilo1-1 (@billionaire41) September 15, 2020

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And there are others that might switch to options like YouTube, as a result!

This is nothing short of terrible for small streamers. I make nothing off of ads and this will cause me to stream less and focus more on YouTube for growth. 👏🏻 @Twitch for pushing aspiring creators off of your platform. https://t.co/IyVOaBTJca
— GhostyGeist 👻🌱 (@Ghosty_Geist) September 15, 2020

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