Twitch is going after ad blockers the way YouTube did: what is going to happen now?
Twitch is apparently taking a page out of YouTube’s playbook and started pushing back against any Twitch ad blocker. As in the YouTube case, it is rolling out pretty slowly right now, and looks like a test that has affected a limited number of users.
Twitch users have been sharing screenshots of what look like anti-adblock pop-up gracing their screens mid-stream. One user mentioned on Reddit that they were hit with a pop-up every 30 minutes to an hour, asking them to either turn off their ad blocker or subscribe to Twitch Turbo. Twitch Turbo is a monthly subscription that lets you watch Twitch streams without ads, except for those tied to channel sponsorships.
Apparently, Twitch is running two types of pop-ups so far. One pushes viewers to pay for Twitch Turbo (which costs $11.99 in the US), while the other simply tells them to turn off their ad blocker and watch ads, without offering an ad-free alternative.
It’s hard to say which option is actually more lucrative for Twitch. Twitch gives streamers a 55% cut of the ad revenue their channels generate, but only if they run ads for a minimum of three minutes per hour. So, in order to earn money directly from Twitch (excluding sponsorships), streamers must select either the “recommended” or “high” ad minutes options. Anything below three minutes won’t make them any money.
Streamers also make money from gifted subs, but they still split the revenue 50/50 with Twitch. On top of that, there are deductions like taxes, payment processing fees, and currency conversion, which vary depending on where the subscriber is and how they’re paying.
It’s no surprise that a lot of Twitch streamers partner up with brands to boost their revenue and reduce their reliance on Twitch. Especially since Twitch can demonetize a channel for all sorts of reasons, ranging from political to vague “advertiser requests” like in the case of Amouranth. So, the money they get directly from Twitch isn’t exactly guaranteed — kind of like how YouTube works too.
What happens now with ad blockers on Twitch?
To predict what might happen after this trial, we don’t have to look much further than YouTube. First, they started with pop-ups asking users to turn off ad blockers. Then, they switched to a more ominous-sounding pop-up, letting users watch only three videos for free without ads.
It wouldn’t be surprising if Twitch ramps things up in a similar way. In any case, much like the ongoing situation with YouTube, we’re likely to see a continuous game of cat and mouse between ad blockers and Twitch, with each side trying to outsmart the other.
We have not seen these pop-ups yet, but as soon as we do, we will give you an update as to how we’ll handle them. As for Youtube, while its crackdown on ad blockers has been far more aggressive both in methods and scope, we’ve managed to keep both our app and extension operational. Although YouTube might change things again, for now, everything is running smoothly for the most part. That makes us optimistic about Twitch as well.
