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New Twitch Discovery Feed Launches Amid TikTok Threat: What You Need to Know
Twitch launches Discovery Feed, a short-form video platform, in response to TikTok's uncertain future in the US. Unlike TikTok, Twitch users create clips from live streams rather than uploading their own content. Discovery Feed will be personalised based on viewers' watch history and real-time interactions.
The launch comes just a week after the passage of a law that poses a threat to TikTok's operations in the country.
While Twitch is primarily known for its live-streaming of video games and chat sessions, the new service, called Discovery Feed, aims to provide viewers with short clips extracted from these longer videos. The feature is accessible through a new tab on Twitch's mobile app.
However, it is important to note that Discovery Feed has a long way to go before it can become a significant rival to TikTok. Early posts on the platform included a professor welcoming students to class and a streamer getting attacked on the street, indicating that the content is still in its early stages.
Unlike TikTok, where creators upload their own short-form content, Twitch operates differently. Users on Twitch select amusing or entertaining segments from live streams and convert them into clips. The Discovery Feed will be personalised based on a viewer's watch history and real-time interactions, according to a Twitch spokesperson. This means that the content shown may include mature material, as long as it adheres to Twitch's guidelines.
The launch of Twitch's Discovery Feed comes at a time when TikTok, a division of China's ByteDance, is facing pressure from Congress and the Biden Administration to divest its US operations due to concerns over potential Chinese government influence and data privacy. With 170 million monthly users in the US, TikTok's future remains uncertain.
Interestingly, Twitch and TikTok have been borrowing ideas from each other for years. In 2022, TikTok introduced a live subscription option, reminiscent of Twitch's offering. However, TikTok's foray into live-streaming has not significantly impacted Twitch's dominant position in the market.
It's worth noting that streamers on Twitch will not receive a share of the ad revenue generated on the Discovery Feed. The commercials will appear between the clips rather than directly within them, as confirmed by a Twitch spokesperson.
Twitch launches Discovery Feed, a short-form video platform, in response to TikTok's uncertain future in the US.
Unlike TikTok, Twitch users create clips from live streams rather than uploading their own content.
Discovery Feed will be personalised based on viewers' watch history and real-time interactions.
Source: SCMP