Weekly Streaming News Breakdown for Week of Dec 18th 2023
Twitch News
Twitch recently introduced relaxed regulations on sexual content, permitting previously restricted material as long as the appropriate Sexual Themes Label is applied. This encompasses content featuring camera focus on breasts, buttocks, or pelvic regions, body writing on breasts/buttocks, and erotic dances like strip teases. Notably, activities such as twerking, grinding, and pole dancing no longer require the Sexual Themes label.
However, an initial allowance for fictionalized nudity led to unexpected challenges, with Twitch experiencing an influx of hentai, naked vtubers, and AI-generated bodies. In response, Dan Clancy promptly rolled back this change after two days, acknowledging that they did not foresee this outcome.
Creators using Content Labels related to Drugs, Intoxication, Excessive Tobacco Use, Violent & Graphic Depictions, Gambling, and Sexual Themes will no longer be featured on the front page. The newly launched “Feature” button in the clips manager provides creators with added functionality.
The live Bonus Round, featuring a Bits promotion with bonuses ranging from at least 10% to as high as 50%, is now active. On January 17th, 2024, Squad Stream will be discontinued in favor of the Guest Star feature.
Twitch stories will soon allow tagging creators and improved reaction analytics. Rockstar, utilizing Twitch’s Sub Token feature, distributed 600,000 tokens within the GTA RP community.
Twitch faced a 900,000 euro ($970,000 US) fine in Italy for violating a ban on advertising gambling. Riot Games reported that Prime Gaming chose not to renew its monthly loot promotions.
This week, two new global emotes, GTACamera and GTAFist, were launched. Additionally, in January, Twitch will unveil its plan for adopting AV1 technology. Zara Larsson has recently signed an agreement with Twitch to stream on the platform.
Other Streaming News
YouTube has introduced a new feature that allows eligible creators to gift ten memberships free of charge to community members. These gifts are grouped in sets of 5 and must be for a membership tier priced under $5. It’s important to note that creators do not earn any revenue from these gifted memberships. For additional details, please refer to the provided link.
TikTok achieved a significant milestone with its inaugural global live stream, “In The Mix,” attracting 9.6 million viewers and accumulating a total of 33.5 million, inclusive of rebroadcasts. Additionally, TikTok has become the first non-gaming mobile app to surpass $10 billion in user spending.
Discord is enhancing user experience by introducing a new notification setting called “Essentials,” enabling users to prioritize notifications from servers that matter most to them.
According to a recent YPulse survey, Twitch is experiencing a decline in popularity for gaming content in the United States and Canada. Gen Z and Millennials are increasingly turning to platforms like YouTube and TikTok for their content consumption.
Vidcon is making a return to Anaheim, featuring prominent creators such as Aimsey, Michelle Khare, Tubbo, and many others.
StreamElements has updated its activity feed on Twitch, incorporating larger buttons and introducing pause/snooze ad control for enhanced user convenience.
The Game Awards set a new viewership record with 118 million viewers, marking a 15% increase from the previous year.
In a notable development, E3 has been officially declared as no longer operational.
