Twitch’s new ad rules will hurt streamers, charities, and brands

theverge.com:

Twitch has introduced new rules governing how ads can be run on the site. The rules will disrupt how streamers have traditionally run ads, impacting their ability to consistently earn money. The rules will also affect how charity organizations raise money on Twitch and impact the brands that advertise on Twitch themselves.

Brands contract directly with streamers in exchange for having their products featured during a broadcast. Streamers have run these ads in myriad ways: they do ad reads, play sponsored games, display ads as graphics directly over their streams, cut away from a livestream to a prerecorded video, and more.

An example of the kinds of advertising tools streams use.

Twitch’s new rules affect what it’s calling “burned in” ads, describing them as “pre-recorded ads or commercials that are embedded directly into the stream.” Starting July 1st, Twitch will no longer allow streamers to feature third-party display, video, or audio ads. 

So, for example, Streamer A has a sponsorship deal with Taco Bell. To advertise Taco Bell, the streamer inserted a graphic that takes up a portion of the stream’s viewing space. Streamer A also decided to stop streaming momentarily to play a Taco Bell video ad. Later, during the streaming session, Streamer A also played an audio ad (think radio) extolling the virtues of a Crunchwrap Supreme. According to Twitch’s new rules, all three of these advertising schemes will be prohibited.

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In the statement explaining the new rules, Twitch did share which kinds of ads would still be allowed. Streamers can still perform ad reads; they can also share their affiliate links in chat. Creators can still play sponsored games and feature sponsored products in the background. It is also