Speakers from the Twitch platform at TwitchCon in Las Vegas announced that the streaming giant will allow users to simultaneously stream on Twitch and other social networks. Including YouTube, TikTok and Instagram*, with which the platform tries to compete.
Market experts attribute this openness and willingness to share content with competitors to the desire to retain users, Gizmochina writes: “It is probably a calculated risk to retain top talent in the live streaming industry.”
The measure seems illogical only at first glance. One might think that by allowing users to stream elsewhere, the platform is undermining the loyalty of its own audience. So why make such drastic changes? To retain interesting streamers who have recently started opting for platforms like YouTube and TikTok.
By giving creators more freedom to simulcast without restrictions, Twitch is increasing loyalty primarily among mid-level streamers who may be considering moving to other services due to income concerns.
But there’s another aspect to consider: by offering more flexible streaming options, Twitch is actually expanding its audience reach. Streamers can engage audiences across multiple platforms and potentially attract them back to Twitch.
The publication recalls that the Twitch platform had previously weakened its recommendations for crossstreaming on TikTok and Instagram*. Now the company has gone even further and opens the door to streaming through “any service” unless the streamer has an exclusive contract with Twitch.
Innovation also reflects the company’s willingness to adapt to new market realities. For example, Twitch is known to experiment with machine learning to moderate chats.
And yet, the new policy is still not as simple and transparent as we would like. The authors of the idea accompanied it with a certain set of rules. Among them, for example, is the following instruction: “the Twitch user interface must not be compromised” on other platforms.
This rule is quite ambiguous and leaves room for interpretation. It is unknown how Twitch will enforce this rule, nor what consequences await those who “cross the line.”
*belongs to the Meta corporation, recognized in the Russian Federation as extremist and banned in the country
Author:
Ekaterina Alipova
Source: RB
I am a professional journalist and content creator with extensive experience writing for news websites. I currently work as an author at Gadget Onus, where I specialize in covering hot news topics. My written pieces have been published on some of the biggest media outlets around the world, including The Guardian and BBC News.
