Some streamers turn off ads in their Twitch streams, allowing viewers to watch the stream without interruption, including the LoL streamer NoWay. However, a new feature from Twitch now makes him feel punished.
How does Twitch “punish” the streamers? According to NoWay, viewers also get ads on Twitch even if the streamer has turned them off. This happens in the form of Pre-Roll-Ads, meaning up to 3 minutes of ads before they can even see the relevant streamer’s stream. This, according to NoWay, has direct consequences on viewer numbers: Many viewers drop off during the Pre-Rolls (Source: TikTok).
The streamer feels pressured: That means Twitch simply forces you to run ads by making you non-competitive if you don’t stream with 3 minutes of ads. […] So you can’t fight back.
(Source: TikTok).
At Twitch, this approach is seen more as a feature. On the official website, it states that streamers can disable their Pre-Roll-Ads if they set up regular ad breaks for their stream.
Thus, streamers are faced with the choice of either turning off ads and risking that viewers drop off right at the ad block, or turning on ad breaks in the stream. Twitch has struggled for years with making it worthwhile for streamers to run ads. To counteract this, an Ad-Incentive program was launched in 2022, which was also heavily criticized.
Ads are a constant hot topic on Twitch
What else does NoWay say? Besides the Pre-Roll-Ads, the streamer is also annoyed that viewers get sideline ads. This is particularly annoying for viewers on mobile, NoWay says: Side-Ads make the viewer experience almost impossible on mobile
(Source: TikTok).
So-called stream display ads are designed to be shown at the side and allow the viewer to keep watching the stream while the ad is displayed (via help.twitch.tv). They can be annoying, especially for mobile users, but they are not an active ad interruption, and you can still follow the stream during that time.
What do you think about NoWay’s statement? How do you feel about ads on Twitch? Let us know in the comments!
What do streamers actually have against ads? You might think that streamers love ads since they earn from them. However, it seems that running ads is not really lucrative for many streamers, or at least not lucrative enough to scare away potential viewers.
Streamers earn mainly through placements, donations, and subs on Twitch – things that require keeping the fans happy. Additionally, there are revenues generated from the secondary use of streams on YouTube. For Twitch, however, ads are essential to continue offering the platform for free.
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