☑️ | Discord Ads, DDG's Hitathon, Stream Sniping and TikTok Paid Events

Hello, and welcome to this week's newsletter! There are quite a few important updates for creators, including Twitch's shared discount promo (and opt-out feature), YouTube experiments, TikTok Live paywalls, and more! Also, there are some excellent game keys and curated jobs (including a number of Community Management roles)—a little something for everyone. So, let's dive right in!

Platform Updates

🟪 TWITCH

• You can now opt out of Shared Discount promotions. The first shared promo starts March 27-31, when 5+ subs will be 35% off.
• The Sponsor Dashboard was updated to say "Exclusive Campaign" and "Open Invite Campaigns" instead of just "Twitch Campaigns."
• ~26M Twitch accounts have a connected Amazon Prime account.
• ~570,000 Twitch accounts have Turbo. If they were all US-based, at $11.99, Twitch would earn $6.8M/month or ~$82M for the year from those subscribers.
• Denmark's Gambling Authority has confirmed a partnership with Twitch, which allows it to report illegal gambling content on the platform.
• Twitch temporarily changed its logo across the platform to a Minecraft Creeper Glitch.
• Twitch is testing prompts for specific games to encourage streamers to use the widely unpopular and resource-draining Guest Star feature.
• As platforms reduce moderation, Twitch stands out as the last safe haven via Digiday.
• Emmett Shear tweeted that due to his experience running Twitch, "gambling sponsorship deals are the lowest of the low." Is this an indirect jab at Twitch, which has been inundated with gambling and sports betting ads?
• New EventSub and Twitch API updates for ban evaders, shared chat bans, and others.

🟥 YOUTUBE

• YouTube is testing allowing users to Hide End Screens.
• YouTube shared its best practices for creators to grow communities on the platform.
• Research from eMarketer suggests YouTube will be the best bet for creators financially in 2025, with more brands spending more money there than any other platform.
• YouTube's BrandConnect is getting updates to make brand-creator partnerships even easier for the brands to initiate and manage.

⬛ TIKTOK

• TikTok Live is testing exclusive paid event streams.
• TikTok now has a Security Checkup feature.
• Buffer analysis suggests TikTok videos that are longer than 1 minute get more views and watch time than anything under 1 minute.
• Ad rates on TikTok have crashed by 80% (in the USA), according to AdRoll.

🟦 TWITTER X

• Twitter is testing a "React with Video" option for some iOS users.

⏹️ DISCORD

• Video Quest ads will start rolling out on Mobile in June. They have been on Desktop for a few months already.
• Discord is launching a Social SDK.
• Discord is adding a button to the app headbar that opens a friend list.
• Server Profiles and Guild Tags are returning soon.

🔲 OTHERS

• OTK (via Crossrealm) has partnered with Kick to fast-track creators to Partner. An incredibly weird launch/announcement.