Twitch Sub Only Stream Feature Beta Has Launched
By Nicholas Barth ·
The Twitch subscriber (sub) only stream beta has officially launched, and it has gathered mixed reactions from the community.
Anyone with an internet connection can watch any stream on Twitch for free and enjoy all of the entertainment that a streamer provides. However, viewers have the ability to help support their favorite streamers by becoming a subscriber for various monthly prices. In addition to being able to help support your favorite content creators on Twitch, a sub often gains access to incentives for subscribing that streamers provide in order to reward their most loyal supporters. While many of these incentives usually consist of emotes and the ability to play with the streamer on certain occasions, Twitch has just launched a brand new way for streamers to show their appreciation to a sub by launching the subscriber only stream beta feature.
Twitch Subscriber (Sub) Only Stream
The subscriber only stream is exactly what it sounds like. This new feature that is now in beta allows streamers to make a stream of their only available to view by individuals who are subscribed. This means that viewers who are not a sub to a particular content creator will not be able to watch their stream if they have the subscriber only stream feature enabled. Any tier of subscription or using your free subscription from being a Twitch prime member will grant viewers access to a sub only stream of whichever streamer they are a subscriber of.
If you are not a sub of a particular Twitch streamer, you will see a preview like the one in the image below if they have the sub only stream feature enabled.
In order to be eligible to use the sub only broadcast feature, streamers must meet three requirements that can be found below.
"The streamer must be a Twitch Affiliate or Twitch Partner.
The streamer must have broadcasted at least 90 unique days as Affiliate or Partner
The streamer must not have violated the Twitch Community Guidelines in their last 90 unique broadcast days. This means that if their channel received a suspension, they would need to broadcast on 90 different days without another violation to be eligible again."
A viewer who is not a subscriber will have a free preview of a few minutes where they will be able to watch the sub only stream before having to become subscribed to the channel in order to keep watching.
As expected, the news of the sub only broadcast feature Beta launching caused some mixed reactions in the community. While this new feature will allow streamers to reward a subscriber in a brand new way, many members of the community believe that some streamers will take advantage of this new subscriber ability in not-so-positive ways.
This is definitely gonna have mixed results.
— hungrybox (@LiquidHbox) June 26, 2019
The one thing that could (possibly?) be worth trying is PPV tournament streams where part of the sub money goes into the pot but I don’t think it would work feasibly.
Imagine EVO Smash Ultimate having a $200K Bonus pot for instance. https://t.co/KpLCZ3cptK
What are your thoughts on the launch of the Twitch sub only stream feature? Do you think it is a valid way for streamers to reward viewers for being a subscriber? Will it be abused by members of the community? Let us know in the comments below!
(cover photo courtesy of Twitch)