Twitch, the number one video live streaming service that focuses on video game live streaming and broadcasts, is experimenting with a new form of ad format. These ads are rumored to be less disruptive.
Twitch has become quite famous during the pandemic which forced people to stay indoors. This was the time when Twitch boomed. It allows music broadcasts, creative content, and real lifestreams. It was launched on 6th June 2011. The Tier 1 cost for the service is $ 4.99.
Twitch is planning on launching a new ad format. This ad format is still in the experimenting stage. Twitch understood the struggle its users, streamers went through whenever an ad popped into their stream like the pre and mid-roll ads. These ads would entirely consume the stream making it quite disturbing for the streamers and viewers.
Twitch is thus experimenting with a new form of ad type called the “Stream Display Ads”. These ads would not consume the streamer’s screen and would be like pop-ups that will show around the stream in small sections. Also, earlier the ads that would take up the whole screen would also disconnect the streamers from its users for some nanoseconds and the viewers wouldn’t be able to hear or see anything. These new ad formats would not disrupt the stream and they would be able to hear and watch the stream without any disturbances.
Twitch tweeted about this experiment on Twitter even clarified that the creators would get revenue from the ads displayed on their screen. Twitch also said that this form of ad format will be provided as an option to the steamers and if they want it they can choose it.
🔬 We are experimenting with a new ad format: Stream Display Ads!
These are less disruptive ads that allow viewers to see and hear Creators while being displayed. Creators will receive ad revenue for each SDA shown. This is an optional feature.
📚 https://t.co/DzYp6yIT5a pic.twitter.com/a9qo7Dam6n
— Twitch Support (@TwitchSupport) August 2, 2021
There are various ways in which the ads can take up your screen. It could appear as a pop-up ad or even a backdrop ad. It depends on what option the streamer chooses.
Earlier on Twitch two types of ads appeared that took up the entire stream. One was a pre-roll ad which is usually about 15 seconds long and gets played before the actual content of the stream begins. Twitch also provided the option to its streamers and they could disable pre-roll ads for their new viewers if they wanted to. While the second type of ad is the mid-roll ad about a minute long and usually plays near or at the halfway mark of the stream – generally 40-70% of the way through the show.
The new ad format will have ads that last for a time limit of 10 seconds which is quite less and the viewers would not be able to close or minimize the ads and would require to watch them while the creator is streaming. According to Twitch FAQ which is answered by Twitch cleared out some questions of the viewers. These ads would show automatically and you would not be able to close it or minimize it in any way. Twitch also promised that a total of 8 ads would appear in an hour; this is the maximum number given by Twitch and can change due to future demands.
This ad format sounds quite interesting and streamers and viewers would be very happy to actually use it in real life.
