The streaming service Twitch is currently experimenting with a change that allows viewers to watch one minute of streams without having to see annoying ads or load the stream on a new page. The streamer Kacey “Lowco” Shields says: This change could be really good for small streamers and streamers, a true “game changer.”
What kind of experiment is this? It is a feature that is not yet available to all users, but only to some. It is referred to as a “discoverability” test. Twitch is apparently testing whether users can better discover new channels in this way:
- If you click on a directory, for example, “All current streams for the game Fall Guys,” you can watch each stream listed there directly through the collection page for about a minute
- During this time, you can enlarge the window as if “you were watching the stream properly,” can activate the sound, and even read the chat
- After about a minute, the preview ends, and the viewer faces the choice of continuing to watch the stream “in the channel” or moving on to the next one on the overview page
The platform Twitch keeps writing strange stories:
No ads during stream previews
What are the benefits? At the moment, it is annoying to “browse through channels” on Twitch and discover new ones. Because with every change to a new streamer, the channel must first be loaded, and then the viewer has to watch an ad that cannot be skipped.
As Twitch streamer Kacey “Lowco” Shields explains, there would be no ads during the new preview feature. She says:
While I was testing this, I did not see any preroll ads. If that remains and you can really check out a stream without clicking on it and having to load a new page, and without ads, it could be huge for streamers.
Lowco says: Everyone knows how frustrating it is to search for a new streamer to watch on Twitch – if the new update comes as planned, that could change.
She sees it as a very good thing, especially for small streamers.
Twitch seems to want to make scrolling through channels more pleasant
What’s behind this: Twitch is a “top-heavy” system: Viewers have their favorite streamers they always watch, and because those are the biggest, they also appear at the top of the rankings and are the first ones to catch the eye:
- Therefore, even with new games like Diablo Immortal, those streamers like Asmongold or Quin69, who have already built up a large audience with other games, are immediately leading. And because they are leading with a new game, they attract new viewers and continue to grow.
- Those with few viewers struggle to grow.
With the change, Twitch ultimately wants to make “scrolling” and “browsing” on Twitch more attractive by eliminating many hurdles at least for a minute that currently appear whenever one wants to enter a new channel.
Twitch has now confirmed: It is planned that there will be no ads in the preview. Not even if the feature becomes standard.
Whether and when the new preview feature will become standard on Twitch is currently not known.
The biggest German streamers on Twitch are presented here:
The currently 5 biggest streamers in Germany: Who they are and what they do
