Twitch Exploring Subscription Revenue Cuts, Bigger Focus On Ads - Report

Proposed changes to monetization approaches are reportedly being discussed at Twitch, with a big change to partner revenue cuts being proposed.

In a report by Bloomberg, several sources state that Amazon, Twitch's parent company, is continuing to look for long-term answers to financial stability for the streaming platform, sometimes at the expense of its users. One of the largest changes that could be introduced in the coming months will cut revenue from channel subscriptions (which can range from $5 to $25) from 70% to just 50% for Twitch partners, which consists of Twitch's biggest streamers.

Another proposed change is introducing new tiers to its partner program while loosening restrictions on where creators are allowed to stream should they be partnered with Twitch. By allowing creators to stream on YouTube and Facebook, Twitch seemingly hopes that the cut in revenue to its creators might be evened out.

Ads are also being spotlighted more in potential changes, with more revenue opportunities for creators who choose to run Twitch's ads more frequently and for longer. This has always been a challenging balance for both Twitch and its streamers to strike; given the random nature of when ads run, it negatively influences livestreams by broadcasting at important times, frustrating viewers in the process. As Bloomberg points out, some streamers have just accepted that this is where Twitch is headed, which makes new revenue-sharing plans for ads plausible in the future.

The report stresses that none of these changes have been formally agreed upon, which can see many if not all of them change entirely before being introduced. With so many of its competitors struggling to attract creators in the same way, Twitch certainly has the pull to make large changes like this in its pursuit to make Amazon's nearly billion-dollar purchase worth it.