Just a mere hour after issuing new changes to streamer’s branded content, Twitch has issued an apology and admitted they “missed the mark.”
Yesterday saw the live-streaming company release upcoming changes to their Branded Content Guidelines. This would mean streamers would have to alter the way they presented their branded content.
However, the changes were met with major backlash after the changes would drastically affect streamer’s income from brands and sponsors.
New Guideline Changes
The major changes would mean streamers would have to make on-screen logos limited to 3% of the screen size. Additionally, burned-in video, display and audio ads would be banned. This refers to content that is prerecorded and later embedded into the stream.
These new changes would mean creators would have to change how they present their sponsored content. Considering Twitch already takes 50% of income, this is a huge blow for streamers on the platform.
The news was understandably met with backlash from the Twitch community.
“One more nail in the coffin,” said Jacksepticeye.
LowcoTV also took to Twitter to express her anger: “This is absolutely atrocious. Especially at a time when so many creators are struggling, sponsorships are critical. How dare you try to restrict streamers from making a living. You talk about wanting to grow the pie but it’s clearly just your pie, not that of creators.”
To make light of the news, Twitch Partner PaladinAmber found a unique way to bend the new 3% rule.
The Apology
With content creators expressing their disappointment and some even threatening to make the move to rival streaming platform Kick, Twitch swiftly issued an apology.
“Today’s branded content policy update was overly broad. This created confusion and frustration, and we apologise for that,” they said.
“We do not intend to limit streamers’ ability to enter into direct relationships with sponsors, and we understand that this is an important part of how streamers earn revenue.
“We wanted to clarify our existing ads policy that was intended to prohibit third party ad networks from selling burned in video and display ads on Twitch, which is consistent with other services.
“We missed the mark with the policy language and will rewrite the guidelines to be clearer. Thank you for sharing your concerns, and we appreciate the feedback. We’ll notify the community once we have updated the language.”
The Future of Twitch
Since the news broke, Twitch Partner and Ambassador Lil_Lexi announced that she had attended a meeting with fellow Ambassador and Twitch staff and executives.
She claims that the guidelines are being reviewed and in the future, more community members need to be involved with changes on the platform.
What do you think of these guidelines? Let us know across our social media platforms.
