Twitch Chief Product Officer Tom Verrilli and Chief Monetization Officer Mike Minton have revealed some of the changes planned for Twitch for the first half of the year. These will include a revamped pre-roll ads system and other new features that will help streamers grow their channels on the platform and thus earn more money.
Twitch is an ad-supported platform that relies on advertising revenue to sustain its operating expenses, including the payouts for creators. Now, under the new system, streamers will no longer have to play 90 seconds of pre-roll ads every 30 minutes. Instead, they can set up a schedule that runs 3 minutes of ads per hour or do it manually. This way streamers can choose when it's a good time for an ad break without viewers missing an important sequence of gameplay.
This and a new picture-in-picture viewing experience can help streamers keep the attention of their audience that must watch 30 seconds of advertising before being able to lay eyes on the gameplay. Not only will this help the streamers and viewers, but it's also a great practice that has been used in broadcasting traditional sports for quite a while.
The mobile app will also undergo drastic changes that should help streamers reach out and connect with their community in a healthier way. The user interface is due for adjustments that will bring an Upcoming Streams section to the mobile app. Streamers can also create a portfolio of 20 clips from their channel in the new Pinned Clips section, which should offer the viewer a preview of what they can expect from the content creator.