Twitch streamers should brace themselves for some potentially very bad news as the Amazon-owned streaming service is thought to be considering changing the revenue share in its favor.
According to Bloomberg, which cites anonymous sources familiar with the plans, a number of changes are under consideration, the most controversial of which would cut the revenue share streamers receive from channel subscriptions via the Twitch partnership program from 70% to 50%.
Twitch is also pondering whether to introduce multiple subscription tiers for streamers and specific criteria required to qualify for each. Multiple tiers and a reduction in revenue share obviously won't be welcomed by anyone running a popular Twitch channel, so Twitch is also considering the removal of exclusivity restrictions, which can currently stop streamers from using rival platforms such as YouTube.
One final change thought to be under review is the introduction of more ads tied to incentives for streamers who integrate them into their channel and regular streaming sessions.
For now, these options are only being discussed and nothing is finalized, but a decision on what is changing is expected to be implemented by the summer. Twitch clearly needs to weigh up if grabbing an extra 20% of revenue away from streamers will trigger many to leave the service, and the potential for them to take paying subscribers with them.
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