Streamer outrage forces Twitch to drop planned changes to branded ad rules
Just one day after announcing planned changes to its branded content guidelines which established tight limits on how streamers would be allowed to run ads on their channels, Twitch is dropping the whole thing, saying the updated guidelines «are bad for you and bad for Twitch.»
Of course, it all started over money. «We recognize that streamers want to collaborate with brands, but as outlined in the Terms of Service we maintain the exclusive right to sell, serve, and display advertisements on the Twitch Services,» Twitch said yesterday. «This means that you may not insert, embed, or 'burn in' prerecorded advertising units into your livestream.»
Those planned changes did not go over well, with anyone. High-profile streamers demanded that the new guidelines be changed or dropped; at least one streaming network threatened to leave the platform entirely if the new rules were allowed to stand.
It was enough that, several hours later, Twitch acknowledged that it had «missed the mark with the policy language» and promised to update «the language» to make the situation clearer. But this too was met with criticism, as many streamers pointed out that the problem wasn't that the policy was unclear, but that it was bad.
Twitch apparently got the message: Restrictions on content, like alcohol, gambling, and adult content, remain, but the entire «prohibited formats» section has now been removed.
«Yesterday, we released new Branded Content Guidelines that impacted your ability to work with sponsors to increase your income from streaming,» Twitch said. «These guidelines are bad for you and bad for Twitch, and we are removing them immediately.
»Sponsorships are critical to streamers' growth and ability to earn income. We will not
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