TikTok Live Improving Sub Perks, AfreecaTV Goes SOOP, and Sub Prices Increase This Week

Good Monday to you all! It was an interestingly quiet news week in the streaming space—kind of nice, to be honest! But I'd be remiss if I didn't bring up some data from what I mentioned last week in the newsletter—Goals and Future Plans!

Last week, I asked creators how far into the future their goals extend. 27% had goals that were at least two years into the future. 25% planned for things this year, while 48% were day-to-day 'surviving' as a creator. So, if you've ever felt like you're unsure what tomorrow holds - you have lots of company! Hopefully these newsletters help with some of that uncertainty! And with that, let's get into the recap!

Twitch News

• Twitch's Sponsorship feature (very very limited creator access) now shows when people you follow are doing a campaign in the Followed Channel sidebar. It also ignores viewership sorting to display it at the top.
• UK, Canada, and Australia: Subscription prices increase on Thursday. To lock in today's pricing, consider subscribing for six months before then.
• Digiday reports that Amazon is pulling all the lucrative parts of Twitch, suggesting that Twitch's future is solely based on how it may monetize its cultural value. As always, creators need to diversify to smooth out any possible future bumps.
• There is now a Branded Content toggle option to modify the channel information endpoint in the API.
• A UIC Barcelona study says that Twitch has the most potential to get young people interested in politics.
• Does Twitch have a culture of sexual content? These researchers published an analysis that suggests it might - particularly in the Pools and ASMR categories.
• A judge has ruled that the civil suit against social media companies, including Twitch, can move forward in the Buffalo mass shooting event.
• Twitch ANZ has announced its first ten GrassRoots creators for 2024: Galaxyzug, Moe9times, Soufpaw, ActualAzza, Pyroscythe, Becness, SomeNerdontheWeb, AussieShadow, Amisyka, and JuicyIris.
• Twitch's Ad Sales Director for France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg, Melissa Simoni, has left the company.

Streaming Industry News

• TikTok is testing new perks for LIVE Creator Subscriptions including things like Content Requests, Topic Choice, Shoutouts, Priority Comments, and more.
• If you use StreamElements for tips, reconnecting the connection may allow you to access reduced PayPal fees.
• YouTube has renewed its Premier sponsorship of the OBS Project.
• YouTube now requires creators to identify altered or synthetic (AI) content.
• Despite a potential ban and the loss of some US users, TikTok is getting more marketing spend from brands and retailers.
• AfreecaTV is changing its name on March 29th to SOOP.
• VStream, a streaming service for Vtubers, is shutting down on April 1st.
• Deloitte Insight data says 50% of Gen Z and Millenials will play a video game because of a recommendation from a gaming influencer and often learn about games from live streamers.
• Fast Company listed Chess.com as one of the world's most innovative companies. Their creators and the streaming space were prominent reasons for their innovative success.
• LinkedIn is developing in-app games, with companies ranked based on employee scores.

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