Hello! I have a hectic week ahead, compounded by my expectation of a very busy August for the streaming space overall! Historically, the month before Twitchcon tends to be jam-packed. I'm also starting to put together a list of events and parties around the convention, so if you know of any, please let me know!
Now, speaking of historical events, last year around this time, I asked you how you felt about the state of streaming today compared to a year ago. I'd like to compare those findings from a year ago to today! I would appreciate it if you took a few minutes to answer these three questions!
And with that, let's get into the news!
Twitch News
- A Subscription Bundle Experiment running right now offers some viewers a 20% discount on subs when they gift five or more subs on Desktop.
- From July 30 to August 19, subscribing or gifting a subscription will earn you a free code for three months of Apple TV+. More details here.
- As mentioned in a previous newsletter, the official launch of the DJ program is August 1st.
- The new Creator Clubs for IRL and DJs are launching on August 1st.
- Twitch updated its Sexual Harassment Policy to make it more straightforward.
- Automod has a new Sexual Harassment setting creators can use on their channel.
- The new Clip editing tool has started to get released in the backend editor. It's not yet available when you create a clip.
- You can now set your Plus Points goal between 100 and 300. Previously, affiliates were locked to 100, while Partners were locked to 300.
- Twitch has an ongoing 2FA SMS issue preventing people from accessing their accounts.
- TwitchDev is hosting a Game Jam from July 26 to August 10. The theme is "Many to One," and you must use the Game Engine Plugin to some extent.
- Twitch avoids birthday celebrations and does work anniversary parties with themes instead. This year's theme is Prom.
- New Global Emote: TheOne
- Multiple Twitch Partnership Directors have left in the last few weeks, including for Germany and Central Europe.
- Staff and Executives at Twitch sang Happy Birthday to Hasan Piker.
I'm finally opening up new partnership opportunities through the TOS.gg newsletter and personally! If you've ever wanted to work with me and access a community of streaming creators directly, please fill out this form, and I'll get back to you shortly!
Streaming Industry News
- Aitum is launching a new multistreaming tool to enable multiple canvas broadcasts on YouTube, Twitch, TikTok, and elsewhere. Twitch previously confirmed that vertical broadcasting was in the works, which shows that Aitum is ready for when it launches.
- Discord currently offers an extra month when you subscribe to Nitro on Desktop.
- Instagram posted tips and tricks on how to succeed at live streaming on their platform.
- TikTok is testing a karaoke song request feature.
- Fourthwall now connects with Twitter/X, allowing you to display and sell merch on-site.
- SAG-AFTRA video game workers have gone on strike. They encourage creators to talk about the strike and what they are fighting for or invite striking members to be part of your content/stream.
- Kick released a roadmap that includes an API, currency, and short-form video.
- Ofcom fined TikTok ~$2.6M (reduced to $2.4M) for failing to respond to a request for information about family pairing.
