At the TwitchCon conference in Las Vegas, Twitch announced that streamers will now have the freedom to simultaneously broadcast their content on various streaming services, marking a significant shift in the company's policy.
This move allows Twitch creators to expand their reach beyond the platform, including on social media giants like TikTok and Instagram. However, there is a catch: this new policy applies only to streamers who do not have an exclusive contract with Twitch.
This change might seem counterintuitive, as it appears that Twitch is potentially diluting its own viewer base. However, it's likely a strategic decision to retain its top content creators in the fiercely competitive live-streaming arena.
In recent times, some high-profile streamers have migrated to rival platforms like YouTube. By granting creators more flexibility in simulcasting their content, Twitch could be attempting to appease mid-level creators who are grappling with revenue-related concerns. This shift also has a broader implication: it extends Twitch's outreach. Streamers can now engage with audiences on different platforms, potentially drawing them back to Twitch.
This change, however, comes with a set of regulations, according to a support document. Streamers must ensure that the quality of their Twitch stream is as good as what viewers get on other platforms. They're not allowed to share links to their Twitch community to their broadcasts on other platforms, but they can share links to external websites on their channel's About page. Additionally, they can't use third-party tools to combine chats from different platforms.
