Twitch recently rolled out mid-stream ads that show up in the middle of streams. The live streaming platform was very careful about how it introduced the feature, framing it as an experiment. It seems Twitch was already aware of all the backlash that would come its way from the community.
Regardless, since the feature is live and running, here are some important things you will want to know. Mid-roll ads will run on both affiliate and partnered channels. Creators will get a small share of the ad revenue for every ad that runs on their stream. Since picture-in-picture will be enabled, ads will not theoretically disrupt the viewing experience. Also, viewers who subscribe to a channel will not see any of these ads, and those who also get Twitch subscription using Turbo will also not see them either.
Here's how the ad may look like:
Platform controlled mid roll ads on live streams are G A R B A G E pic.twitter.com/KTtLbNHVEs
— GottaBeHenry?? (@GottaBeHenry) September 15, 2020
Although mid-roll ads have been Twitch's ad feature for a long time, it was under a streamers control when and where to place the ads. Twitch typically tells streamers using its platform to tell their viewers that an ad break will be initiating. However, this won't be the case when Twitch runs the ads automatically.
Naturally, users took to Twitter to express how much they dislike the feature. Some users think that it is Twitch's greedy plan to make wads of cash and other users have pointed out how a viewer could miss interesting action when ads block the content. Twitch Support responded to such tweets by stating that when a mid-roll ad initiates, the stream will be muted and it will continue to play in a small window.
Personally, it doesn't make any sense why Twitch thinks that playing ads amidst live content could be a great idea. However, Twitch is known to take community feedback seriously, and hopefully, the mid-roll ad feature can see some new changes if not removed entirely.
