Twitch Tests Out Running Ads During Livestreams And Streamers Are Not Having It

Twitch is in hot water with its streamers after unveiling a new experiment which releases mid-roll ads during streams. Unlike pre-roll ads, which run before viewers join a stream, these ads would run during ongoing streams without input from the streamers themselves – and they are not happy about it.

The platform announced the ad experiment on Monday night. Straight away, the Twitch Support tweet about the change was bombarded with opposition and concern to the idea.

“Hi there. Don't do this. This is a terrible idea,” the first response tweet reads.

Other responders expressed concern about whether they would see these mid-roll ads if they had Twitch’s premium paid subscription. The support account was quick to assure premium users that they would continue to have an ad-free experience.

Still, many streamers and users voiced apprehension that this ad system will disrupt the flow of a given stream, obscure fun moments, and detract from the quality of their posts as a whole. Twitch promised that the ongoing stream would continue in a smaller, muted window while the ads play, but detractors were still not convinced.

In response to Twitch’s announcement, “adblock” began trending on Twitter on Tuesday as streamers began advocating for their fans to use the service to circumvent mid-roll ads. Despite the fact that streamers will get a cut from each ad, many have said that the new revenue is not worth upsetting fans or denigrating the quality of their content.