Twitch.tv is the world’s biggest live-streaming platform where the content focuses on gaming, music, sports commentary, and overall entertainment. People outside of the Twitch sphere have wondered how the platform earns money aside from the help provided by the parent company, Amazon.
Most people compare it to YouTube which is the most popular video streaming platform in the world. Now, let’s look at the Twitch business model and how it functions.
Twitch Focuses on Advertisements
Whenever you go on Twitch and open up a stream, you will most likely be faced with video ads. Those are not avoidable unless you subscribe to the Twitch channel that you are viewing. Even if you have ad blocker apps on, they will most likely not prevent the ads from coming through.
This focus on ads has made Twitch have strict Terms of Service agreements with every streamer on the platform. They need to be ad-friendly so the website can function properly and not just be run into the ground by the community. If they don’t do this, they won’t rank highly on Google just like if an online betting site doesn’t buy casino links for their SEO strategies.
When some streamers or even chatters go overboard, they can be banned from the platform for a specific amount of time or even an indefinite period depending on the severity.
Twitch’s Partnership Program
This is reserved for the streamers who have gained popularity and earned Twitch’s attention. They have to meet the base requirements to the point where they are given a contract and they have to stream a certain amount of hours. The partners get a cut from the ad money and they can even integrate merchandise into their channel.
As long as the streamer agrees to the program, they can gain access to the many modes of income that they can get on the platform.
The Streamers’ Modes of Income
We already know about how Twitch itself generates revenue but let’s look at the streamers themselves. They are the backbone of Twitch as they are the faces that you will usually see when you open up the website.
- Subscriptions: This is a monthly subscription that comes from the users. This is the way the users can show their support for the streamer which can go directly to them but sometimes, Twitch gets a cut from them. There are three tiers of subs on the platform which are:
- Tier 1: Costs $4.99 a month
- Tier 2: Costs $9.99 a month
- Tier 3: Costs $24.99 a month
- Bits: This is Twitch’s in-stream currency which can be used by users to show appreciation to the streamers. The bits are equal to 1 cent which might be the best way to support if the user doesn’t have cash.
- Donations: As the name suggests, this is where the users can give money directly to the streamer. This can come in any amount and it’s directly going to the streamer’s PayPal.
Twitch will Continue to be the Top Live-Streaming Platform
As Twitch continues to grow, there will be more people looking to get into this business model. Many other streaming platforms have tried to emulate what Twitch gives but the overall experience from this platform has overridden most people’s opinion.
For any other website, they have to reach this level of popularity to gain millions of users every day. Any online casino should try to buy casino links for themselves because that is the way they can get to the top like Twitch has done for streaming sites.
