Superfans welcome: Subscriber Streams are coming to Twitch
Communities are the :bleedPurple: heart of Twitch. When streamers and their viewers come together week after week to bond over the things they love, they build authentic connections that make Twitch a place like none other.
Creators often ask us for new and better ways to reward their viewers; VIP badges and custom Sub emotes are just a few examples. The next gadget we’re adding to their kit is Subscriber Streams. This feature launches in beta today, and we’re breaking it down right here, right now.
What are Subscriber Streams and how do they work?
Subscriber Streams are an exciting new way for streamers to offer another benefit to some of their biggest supporters — subscribers, VIPs, and Mods.
If a viewer subscribes to a channel at any tier, including a Twitch Prime subscription, they’ll have access to that creator’s Subscriber Streams. If they’re not a subscriber and they arrive on a channel that’s running a Subscriber Stream, they’ll see a preview of what’s going on and, if they’d like, they’ll be able to join the party immediately by subscribing.
What are the requirements?
We’re excited to get this feature into as many creators’ hands as possible, but it’s also crucial that streamers and their communities stay safe and follow our guidelines (see the section below). The requirements to broadcast a Subscriber Stream are:
The streamer must be a Twitch Affiliate or Twitch Partner.
The streamer must have broadcasted at least 90 unique days as Affiliate or Partner
The streamer must not have violated the Twitch Community Guidelines in their last 90 unique broadcast days. This means that if their channel received a suspension, they would need to broadcast on 90 different days without another violation to be eligible again.
Steps we’re taking to help keep Subscriber Streams safe
As with any other stream on Twitch, Subscriber Stream content must fall under our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. Subscriber Streams are not private, and we’ve taken steps to ensure a safe and welcoming experience:
As mentioned above, to broadcast a Subscriber Stream, creators must have streamed 90 unique days without a violation. If a qualified streamer does receive a violation, they’ll need to meet this requirement all over again to re-earn access to the feature — starting from day 0.
Subscriber Streams are not private streams. When you arrive at a Subscriber Stream as a non-subscriber, you’ll be able to preview the content live, subscribe, and join the community right away if you’d like.
Subscriber Streams are tagged “Subscriber Stream” for easy discoverability. This tag cannot be removed, and it will always appear first when multiple tags are in use. People can view live previews and report content if they believe it violates our Terms of Service or Community Guidelines.
Subscriber Streams are launching in beta. If you have ideas about how to improve Subscriber Streams, we’d love to get your feedback right here.
What kind of stuff can creators do with Subscriber Streams?
Streamers on Twitch have a way of surprising all of us by using our new features in unexpected ways (we’re looking at you, Squad Streamers), but we could definitely see competitive streamers taking requests on heroes or champions to play, tabletop streamers running a weekly campaign for Subs, music streamers making all-request set lists, and a whole lot more.
What does a Subscriber Stream look like?
Pretty much the same as any other stream — but there are a few small differences.
Subscriber Streams will automatically be tagged “Subscriber Stream” for easy discoverability, and the tag cannot be removed. Subscriber Streams will also feature a star icon (like the one on the Subscribe button) in the left nav on twitch.tv.
And lastly, arriving at a channel running a Subscriber Stream as a non-subscriber will bring up a live content preview. If you like what that community is into, you can subscribe to join immediately and start watching and chatting to your (purple) heart’s content.
In short, they look like this.
How do VODs work for Subscriber Streams?
After a Subscriber Stream, the corresponding VOD will automatically be available for Subscribers. This is regardless of whether the Subscriber-only archives setting in your Dashboard settings is toggled on or off.
If you so choose, you can edit permissions on individual Subscriber Stream VODs via the Video Producer tab of your dashboard.
How do Clips work for Subscriber Streams?
Clips can still be created during a Subscriber Stream and shared during and after the stream. Clips created from Subscriber Streams will not have any restrictions placed on them. If you do not wish for Clips to be shared you may moderate your Clips accordingly in the Clips Manager.
Will Subscriber Streams stop me from completing my Affiliate “Path to Partner” Achievement?
No, we understand that by broadcasting Subscriber Streams your overall CCU may be lower. As such, we do not wish to penalize Affiliates that wish to create custom content for their loyal subscribers.
Subscriber Streams are available now to Partners and Affiliates who meet the requirements above. Check it out on your dashboard, or visit the help page for more information.