Twitch Launches New Program To Pay Streamers Ad Revenue Reliably
Twitch streamers' lives just got a whole lot easier when it comes to ad revenue.
The popular streaming website for gamers recently launched its Ads Incentive Program (AIP) to aid streamers in managing ads.
According to Twitch's blog post on the matter, the AIP (pronounced ape) is a program that presents personalised offers to select creators at launch. However, the only offer the AIP currently has at launch is the option of streaming for a specific number of hours while running ads in exchange for a flat payout.
Twitch claims that the program would remove all the guesswork when figuring out the timing of an ad and the amount creators would be earning on their monthly ad payouts - something Twitch creators have always wanted. This guesswork removal means creators would be free to do what they love for their community.
The AIP works by first accepting Twitch's incentive offer through the Ads Manager dashboard if you're one of the select partners and affiliates that was given access to the program. Once the offer is accepted, Twitch would set its Ads Manager to the rate detailed in the incentive. The creator would then have to stream the minimum number of hours and run the minimum number of ad time required during the month to get the offered incentive.
Pictures showing how the current version of Twitch AIP works. Credit: Twitch
Simply put, using Twitch's AIP is like trying to earn an achievement in a video game.
Creators who go beyond the minimum required hours for the incentive could still earn at their normal ad payout rate for any additional hours streamed. Those who wish to opt-out of the program can receive a prorated payment based on the number of hours streamed.
Twitch hopes that the program would give creators a "reliable floor of ad revenue" to let them better plan for the future. It then added that it will improve the program over time and release it to all creators.
However, not everyone is happy about the new program.
Some Twitter users who seem to be Twitch streamers are sceptical over Twitch's AIP as smaller streamers may not get the program's benefits due to its limited release in the video streaming platform. Others have also asked if the program would affect people who are subscribed to their favourite streamers for ad-free viewing.
Twitch added an ad-free subscription feature in 2016 to allow viewers to watch their favourite streamers uninterrupted by ads regardless of whether the ads were pre-rolls or in-stream ad breaks. However, if a viewer doesn't have Twitch Turbo, they'll still see ads on other parts of a streamer's Channel page and video ads on other channels.
Here's hoping that the AIP wouldn't affect those viewers who've subscribed for an ad-free experience.
Twitch recently launched its Ads Incentive Program (AIP) to take away the guesswork needed from streamers to figure out the timing of an ad or how much they'll get from their monthly ad payouts.
Currently, the AIP only offers personalised incentives to creators.
The current offer works like getting an achievement in a video game. You choose what kind of incentive you like, set up when you want the ads played, stream for the minimum amount of hours required as well as run the minimum number of ad time to get the incentive you chose.
Creators who opt out of the program would get a prorated payment based on the number of hours they streamed
Other Twitch users are sceptical of Twitch's AIP program as smaller streamers may not get the program's benefits due to the limited release and if the program would affect subbed viewers.