Making Cheering Worse, Gambling on Twitch, and YouTube Channel Pages

The last week was one of the most drama-filled weeks in a while. Whether it was the G2 CEO or xQc relationship drama - it seemed every minute was something new. You, unfortunately, won't get a recap of those in this email. It just doesn't feel like most of it will have a long-term cultural impact on the streaming space - unlike the gambling topic (which is covered below!) Anyway, let's get into it!

Twitch News

Twitch is bringing back the controversial Super Cheers for a second broader test. In April, the 'Making Cheering Easier' experiment replaced Bits with a rounded tip amount ranging from $1 to $100. It looked remarkably like YouTube's Super Chats, leading to the name Super Cheers. However, Twitch is aiming to call these Cheer Coins instead. Much like last time, this tipping system will replace Bits, further leading to speculation (my own included) that Twitch will eventually kill Bits for this system. I think this is a mistake considering the cultural implications of losing the flexibility that Bits offer streamers. It's also worth noting that this system says it provides an 80% split with steamers, but that's AFTER taxes/fees. Except for paying with a Gift Card, it almost assuredly will be a worse cut than Bits for creators. There's just nothing to get excited about here.  

• Twitch is now actively testing Sidebar Sorting with 10% of users.
• For roughly a year, Twitch has tested live chat support for Partners. It appears to be more widely available now.
• $50 Payouts were introduced to 117 new countries this week. The USA was not in this round, but you can see the complete list here.

View the rest of this post including YouTube updates, layoffs, calls for Twitch to ban gambling and creator opportunities by subscribing to the newsletter for free!