Twitch announced a number of changes to its livestream platform at its Twitchcon event in Las Vegas. For example, streamers under the Partner Program are now allowed to stream simultaneously on similar, competing platforms.
From now on, Twitch Partners may simultaneously stream on a competing, similar platform, such as YouTube Gaming or Kick, let Twitch know. However, streamers still have to comply with a number of rules. For example, the user experience of the Twitch stream must be ‘no worse than the experience on other platforms or services’. Among other things, the video quality must be at least as high, and the Twitch chat must receive at least as much attention as the chat of the other platforms that are streaming at the same time, according to Twitch.
In addition, it is not permitted to post links on Twitch to the same live stream on another platform, or to use tools that, among other things, merge chats from multiple platforms. Although streamers are currently not required to indicate that they are simulcasting, Twitch says it is working on a feature that will require streamers to indicate this in the future.
Although for years Partners were completely prohibited from streaming on other platforms, Twitch changed that rule last August. From then on, such users were allowed to create live content on other platforms, although simultaneous streaming on similar platforms was not yet allowed under the Partner contract. Simultaneous streaming on short-form mobile apps such as TikTok or Instagram Live was already allowed.
Once streamers reach a certain number of followers, viewers, and streaming hours, they become eligible for the Twitch Partner Program. This includes receiving a higher percentage of the subscription fee and other types of donations made directly via Twitch. They can also set more emoticons for subscribers to use, and get access to some exclusive features like co-streaming.
In addition to this adjustment for Twitch Partners, comes the livestream platform with some other changes. For example, chatters who dox or swatt streamers or other users on another platform can now also be banned via Twitch. Furthermore, moderators can anonymously send warnings to chat users if they cross the line via the new Channel Level Chat feature. The user must first respond to that warning before they can chat again. Finally, it will be possible for all English-language Twitch channels to enable the Smart Detection function of the AutoMod. This allows the AI mod to learn from how the human moderators act so that over time it knows when chat messages are considered inappropriate and should be deleted.