Remove mid-roll ads
Cancel the testing of mid-roll ads on affiliate and partner channels. Your viewer base doesn't want this and creators don't want ads playing out of their control interrupting their content
As we announced on Twitter earlier, we have concluded the mid-rolls experiment. Thank you all for your comments and the incredible momentum you’ve contributed to this topic.
There have been many great suggestions, both in this thread and in the Ads forum that we have taken back to the team for consideration. It’s important to know that ads are essential to the future of Twitch, however we want to make things as painless as possible. Please still upvote, share, comment, and create new ideas in this forum so that we may continue to benefit from all of your passionate influence.
Announcement: https://twitter.com/TwitchSupport/status/1306709495196852225?s=20
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LilCuppicake commented
YouTube did this not too long ago, and it upset a TON of people, especially those watching ASMR. Twitch is basically repeating this, but making it worse because at least it could be fixed on YouTube, this sounds like it isn't even adjustable? Why would anyone think this was a good idea, especially for something live? Like what if your question was answered during the ad? You'd never know.
Of course with ASMR, ads are SO much louder that it literally hurts my ears. Even when I change videos on YouTube I have to adjust my volume for the starting ads..
Seriously if you HAVE to do ads, TURN THEM DOWN. -
ROO0R commented
It's not going to be hard for viewers to find ad-blockers. If you want people to continue watching ads, please don't interrupt our streams to force the issue.
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Mr_Vokiman commented
I'm probably not the only one who has their adblock disabled on twitch because they want to support streamers but enabled on youtube because of the constant pre-/midroll ads.
I don't want to have to enable adblock on twitch again.
Nobody wants to see them, and if the same ad keeps interrupting what I'm watching then I'm more likely to buy from the competition because I have negative associations with the advertiser
It's plain and simple -
Eclipse_Projectile commented
Twitch. This kind of throwing ads on streams causes the viewers to most likely tune away, harming all of Twitch in the long run. I am a small near-fulltime streamer and I want to grow my channel without having to deal with ads being played in a forceful manner. What if a brilliant moment happens during an ad break? What if big streamers lose their viewers, because of this? Ads might make money, but this will cause you to lose money in the long run. Always think about the long run, not the quick way to earn money. Stop doing this!
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ExploringASMR commented
This would kill my stream. People watch my content to relax and an ad blaring at them mid-stream is guaranteed to make them leave. Not to mention the content they are missing while the ad is playing. Surely there is a better way to get you more ad revenue that won’t so negatively impact the streamer.
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AndiTheSlayer7 commented
Please Team of TwitchTV,
do not add those mid rolls into streams. I can understand it is a question of money, but this was the exact same way how Youtube started to fall apart. Dont let that happen to your beautiful platform. As a alternative solution you could add a couple of spots before someone starts to watch the stream or when the Streamer is making a break, but not in the middle of the stream. It will ruin every intense moment or moments with suspense. Every Boss fight or every epic scene would be in danger. Please do not take this path. This would be the first step to push all your users away, please lets find another way together! Thank you -
MistressMangoBango commented
I leave streams that roll ads. It takes away from the content on stream and makes the viewer miss out on exciting or important moments.
Streams I've seen ads on do not give you a warning about ad breaks or take a break during them so I've missed on some action happening in the stream. -
LocoLea commented
Pls Twitch, this is not TV. We don't need Commercials every 20 mins. Maybe if there would be a better payment for Streamers to play commercials in their streams, they would think about it more often.
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SirClever commented
This will single-handedly kill user interactions with the Streamer in the middle of a stream.
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Lasharus commented
I am a small streamer. The result of this new ad policy is that I will most likely STAY a small streamer.
If you HAVE to implement this to optimise income, there are vastly better ways to do it that aren't incredibly disruptive and taking away control from the streamer.
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teadawwg commented
So after mixer is gone we can make every 10 min ads.
Watching the league of legends worlds and getting on a 3vs 5 clutch ads.
Nice good job guys.
And don't say it's for the streamers they getting nothing from the ads -
maguszero85 commented
Cancel the midroll ads for streamers it is going to be detrimental for viewers and supporters because we will miss crucial content especially during a story, talking to viewers, gameplay, and even raids
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TheGamingAuthor commented
Much as I understand the need for Twitch to generate revenue to both sustain its operation and invest in new features, I feel *very* strongly that mid-roll ads are not the way to go about this.
Live-streaming is an inherently unpredictable entertainment experience. That's the entire appeal of it. Unexpected moments, real-time interactions between audience and streamer, etc. These are the things that both bring new viewers in, and keep them watching in the future.
Mid-roll ads would be inherently disruptive to this experience. Not only would they turn off new viewers, but they would also incentivize long-time viewers to either reduce their time on the platform, install an adblocker, or simply leave the platform entirely.
And this is to say nothing of all the myriad ways it would negatively impact content creators and their ability to create the kinds of immersive, compelling content that have made Twitch *the* top live-streaming platform on the internet. Creators who are already disincentivized to run ads because of how how disruptive they are to our content and for our viewers.
Again, I understand the need for Twitch to make money in order to continue and advance its operations, but all mid-roll ads will do in this regard is damage viewer retention, encourage the use of adblocking software, and turn both potential viewers and content creators away.
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frankthepegasus commented
By putting mid-roll ads in for us you are taking even more agency from us as creators. We are most effective when we have control over how our stream is run, and this removes that control one step further.
We already do not get any say in *which* ads are played, which often results in horrible pairings, but by also removing the freedom to choose when they are played, we are even less effective.
If you need us to play more ads, this is something you can ask of us in a different way - your Front Page programs incentivizing the running of mid-rolls has shown to be effective. People come away from that program with continued mid-rolls and even tell their friends about the experience.
By asking us to put up with random mid-rolls, our viewers miss out on content, and we are rendered less effective (lower viewer retention, mis-matched ads, etc).
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ShellshockPrime commented
This is a terrible idea, because people would miss important interactions or moments. Even with the Stream muted, it's still a terrible idea to begin with. I want no part of mid-roll ads.
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Ace9139 commented
Get rid of mid-roll ads. Twitch says this "directly support the Creator" but what about non-affiliate channels? None of the ad revenue goes to them, are they not also Creators? This decision isn't for the Creators, it's for Twitch's pockets.
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RoslinAtreides commented
I raided off to a friend last night and i got FIVE ads with only what felt like a 5 minut break between them. This is the WORST idea.
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michaelroni commented
There are so many aspects of this that are bad, both from the streamer perspective and from the viewer perspective. I just pooped out a handful, but we're just scratching the surface on how terrible this mid-roll ad nonsense is.
1. Unwanted interruptions of crucial story moments during single player games.
2. Unwanted interruptions of major hype moments during multiplayer games or esports broadcasts.
3. For a small streamer with only a few viewers, even just one viewer leaving is a huge percentage drop in viewership.
4. The percentage of revenue that the streamer receives from ads is so small that they'll lose potential viewers and in exchange receive next to nothing.
5. Rather than focusing in creating the best content they can, streamers will now have to apologize to viewers for something that is not even within their control.
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NikkiandBunty commented
We play lots of games where our viewers interact. Disabling us while that's going on? We'll lose viewers, the channel won't be as fun, and we'll dwindle. "Just chatting" streams? They'll die.
If the ads are scheduled, happen simultaneously for all viewers, and we know when they're going to run, then it might be acceptable. MIGHT be. But I'd want an option to turn them off. Take a higher percentage of bits, subs, whatever. But don't ruin the flow of a fun interactive stream.
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MinorMonster commented
The only way I see forced mid-roll ads working, if you absolutely HAVE to have them, is if 1) they are scheduled, 2) they happen simultaneously for all viewers, and 3) the streamer gets a heads-up and a countdown for then they happen. Then they can (hopefully) pause the live action and let the add roll so viewers don't miss what might be important content. Would still be a PITA, especially for collab/mutliplayer content, talk shows, esports and so on, but at least it would give the streamer a shot at avoiding that it severely hurt the quality of their content. A little bit more manageable at least.