Twitch tests feature letting viewers pay to promote streamers

After the new safety tools announcement, Twitch is on trial of a new feature that will let users pay money to promote the stream.  

On social media, the new feature is in the works has been rumoured, and a Twitch spokesperson has confirmed the feature testing with a few streamers.

During Twitch’s Patch Notes program, Twitch went into detail about the new paid boost feature.

A notification will show on the screen for 10 minutes during a stream that informs viewers where the boost option would show.

 

Then, participating viewers can pay for various suggestions. There are two purchase tiers in the demonstration:  

• For .99 cents - 1,000 recommendations
• For $2.97 cents - 3,000 recommendations

For participating streamers, random these boost purchase windows and can occur as regularly as each time a streamer goes live.

 

The boost feature can be said to be a paid version of the “Boost this stream” community challenge program currently set up. In this, viewers have the option to pool channel points and use them to promote a creator.

 

Twitch product manager Jacob Rosok explained that feedback from the community was born out of the new paid program, and streamers wanted more opportunities to promote their stream and be more impactful.

It looks to be providing impact with a monetary value. The money paid on recommendations will provide more front-page exposure and boosted stream.

On Twitch, there are so many creators currently. For smaller streamers, their hopes depend on Twitch’s coveted front page landing. This boost program let streamers bypass the algorithm, draw luck and pay directly. Reaching to the front page leads more views, affecting the revenue from ads, subscriptions, and appeal.

 

Furthermore, at each level, Twitch is taking a part of that income. At present, Twitch takes 50% of subscription revenue from the streamer. The company also takes ad revenue’s part, and any money isn’t spent on boosting a stream. There are alternate ways for watchers to help streamers and for streamers to discover bigger audiences.

According to a Twitch spokesperson, this experiment is not final and will evolve depending on community feedback.