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Gaming Advertising Live Streaming

Twitch is testing mid-roll ads, and here’s why you should care

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By John Glenday, Reporter

September 16, 2020 | 2 min read

Twitch is eyeing a potentially lucrative new revenue stream by ’experimenting’ with the display of adverts mid-stream to some non-subscribers. The commercials run across both affiliate and partner channels, with creators receiving their share of revenues.

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Twitch tests mid-roll ads

What is Twitch testing?

  • Picture-in-picture viewing for all channels is enabled to minimise viewer disruption as far as possible.

  • Twitch and channel subscribers will be spared the inconvenience completely.

  • The live gaming service is no stranger to mid-roll ads, but these have historically sat outside its direct control and been implemented by players themselves.

  • Instead, Twitch sets out its own ground rules such as informing viewers in advance of when an advert is incoming to head off any potential irritation.

  • At present, Twitch ad revenues are comparatively low, with affiliates earning a flat rate of $3.50 per 1,000 views.

Why should agencies and brands care?

  • Twitch has exploded in popularity, with 3.8 million streamers broadcasting on the service in February alone.

  • These streams drew an impressive 15 million daily viewers, with the number of monthly users pegged at 140 million.

  • Lockdown has added further fuel to the fire, with a housebound public increasingly turning to online video and gaming to pass the time.

  • Seeking to capitalise on this mounting presence, Amazon has already begun enabling brands to buy into this audience by offering Twitch inventory on its own advertising platform.

Gaming Advertising Live Streaming

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