{"id":49261,"date":"2023-10-27T23:47:41","date_gmt":"2023-10-27T23:47:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2023\/10\/27\/twitchs-cmo-says-competition-from-rival-platforms-is-good-for-creators-techcrunch\/"},"modified":"2023-10-27T23:47:41","modified_gmt":"2023-10-27T23:47:41","slug":"twitchs-cmo-says-competition-from-rival-platforms-is-good-for-creators-techcrunch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2023\/10\/27\/twitchs-cmo-says-competition-from-rival-platforms-is-good-for-creators-techcrunch\/","title":{"rendered":"Twitch\u2019s CMO says competition from rival platforms is good for creators | TechCrunch"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Though attendees grumbled about Las Vegas as a city, the community sentiment at this year\u2019s TwitchCon was notably more optimistic than it was at last year\u2019s convention. <\/span><\/p>\n

TwitchCon 2023<\/span><\/a> closed out a tense year for the platform, which was punctuated by <\/span>rounds of layoffs<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>unpopular policy decisions<\/span><\/a> and the sting of <\/span>competitors poaching major streamers<\/span><\/a> with glitzy non-exclusive deals and more favorable revenue splits. Twitch managed to mend its fraught relationship with its community by <\/span>walking back several controversial policy decisions<\/span><\/a> in the months leading up to TwitchCon.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

During the event\u2019s opening ceremony, the company offered an olive branch to its streamers by <\/span>announcing<\/span><\/a> that it would allow simulcasting to any other livestreaming service.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Simulcasting<\/a>, or streaming on Twitch and any of its rival platforms at the same time, was banned for much of the platform\u2019s history. Partners were forbidden from streaming to any rival platform, like YouTube or Facebook, until <\/span>Twitch lifted its exclusivity clause last year<\/span><\/a>. The platform <\/span>also lifted restrictions<\/span><\/a> on simulcasting for mobile short-form video platforms, like Instagram and TikTok, last year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Allowing simulcasting is the latest in Twitch\u2019s apparent pivot away from exclusivity \u2014 a move that streamers have been pushing for as the creator industry evolves to demand a diversified online presence. In an interview with TechCrunch, Twitch\u2019s Chief Marketing Officer Rachel Delphin discussed how creator feedback shapes the platform\u2019s policy decisions, and why investing in the Twitch community is so vital as livestreaming competitors gain popularity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

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Image Credits:<\/strong> Courtesy of Twitch<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

TechCrunch: There\u2019s been a lot of chatter about other streaming platforms like YouTube or Kick, but Twitch still dominates livestreaming. Why do you think that is?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Delphin: Part of it, I think, is our history and expertise. We\u2019ve been doing this for a long time, 16 years. Who\u2019s been in the game for 16 years? I think the other thing is focus. It isn\u2019t something that\u2019s part of our business and company, it is our business and company. This is what we do. We\u2019ve been able to build something that transcends technology, which is the community. And that is the thing that\u2019s really hard to build.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I also mean the behavior of being in a community. So if you\u2019re a streamer, you\u2019ve got an engaged chat, because of the norms and culture that\u2019s been set. You\u2019ve got people who are going to subscribe to you channel, share with bits, donations or whatever means of support that they can give, who want to moderate your channel, who show up to your meetups. I think that culture that was established really early and obviously it\u2019s grown in 15 years, is a huge part of why we\u2019ve been able to lead for so long.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You\u2019ve always stressed that the core of Twitch will always be livestreaming, but in the last year, Twitch has really put out a lot of features that other platforms have, like Stories and discoverability feeds.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

They\u2019re still about, ultimately, how to serve a live content creator. How do you support their needs? Discovery and growth are interconnected, and the reality is, a lot of Twitch is a really meaningful experience. You\u2019re not flipping it open so you can have a quick 10-second, two-minute sort of session. You\u2019re really engaged, right? You\u2019re sitting down there for a while.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, that\u2019s how some people do that. If you\u2019re standing in line at Starbucks, and you want to do a quick dive into the content, right? And so giving people a way where they can either discover new creators, they can do that relatively quickly and much simpler than trying to navigate your way through Twitch. But also, providing content creators a way to nurture, build and update their community even when they\u2019re not live, is really important. At the end of the day, we\u2019re trying to support our live content creators \u2014 for stories, it\u2019s a great way to connect with community when you\u2019re not live, and feed, for when folks are looking for a sort of quick check in. It\u2019s much easier to discover new content creators.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It seems like a lot of that is designed to keep viewers on Twitch as a platform instead of having to check other platforms. But with that in mind, I\u2019d love to know what went into the decision to allow simulcasting now?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

My perspective on it is, at the end of the day, we\u2019re here to support content creators. A lot of folks have been utilizing the policy around mobile livestreaming services, so they\u2019re able to do simulcasting there as of last August. Now, in talking with streamers, they\u2019re like, \u201cLook, I want a way to try to bring other people in, and simulcasting is a really great tool that either I feel very strongly or I\u2019ve experienced myself using these mobile services, where I\u2019m seeing more people actually come to my channel because I\u2019m able to reach them through these other services.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And so the decision is just that they should have the freedom to explore. Yeah, it\u2019s pretty simple.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So I just talked to Mike about monetization<\/a> and the sense of discontent that a lot of people have had over Twitch in the last year or so. Aside from the money aspect of it, how has Twitch responded to feedback from its creators in terms of features for the community?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

I hope TwitchCon makes clear, certainly to the folks who are here, that their feedback is really important. We seek it out. So a lot of the content here [at TwitchCon] is designed to share and solicit feedback. Product Q&As, safety Q&As, sessions about specific products or monetization \u2014 all so that we are able to have that nuanced back-and-forth with the community.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Community feedback, whether it\u2019s broadcast to us, or whether it\u2019s in UserVoice<\/a>, whether it\u2019s in research forums or casual forums, is something we\u2019re collecting all the time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Definitely. I also want to talk about how Twitch views the supposed loss of streamers who are prioritizing different platforms in their discontent. If someone with like, 15 million followers decides to stay on Twitch, but mostly prioritizes streaming on another platform, how does Twitch view that? What processes does Twitch have to make sure they stay?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Look, we think we\u2019re the best home. We\u2019re building the right products, having events, engaging regularly. And the community obviously tells a huge story, right? We are the best at this. We\u2019ve been doing it a long time, are highly invested in it, and we plan on doing it a super long time. We\u2019ve got that stability, and opportunity that exists here.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But ultimately, some folks have been getting really great opportunities, and our perspective has been that it\u2019s great for them. And it\u2019s good for livestreaming. And our experience has also been, I think, when there are more livestreams, there\u2019s more people who are exposed to livestreaming, and that kind of content, that community\u2019s interest in content \u2014 that\u2019s good for us. And it\u2019s good for streamers. It tends to expand the universe of livestreaming.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I think Twitch as a platform is very uniquely responsive to community feedback, at least from what I\u2019ve seen in other platforms I\u2019ve covered.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Yeah, and like I said, sometimes it\u2019s a problem identification. We are really ingrained into the community. There\u2019s a lot of people at Twitch who are from the community, [they] are streamers themselves, affiliates, partners. So it\u2019s a pretty fluid boundary between Twitch staff and people who are Twitch community.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Most of the people who work here are missionaries, not mercenaries, and they love Twitch. It\u2019s how they spend their time even when they\u2019re not at work. So we get exposed to that perspective in every single one.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Thinking about that response to the community \u2014 for the longest time, Twitch was the only real livestreaming platform. Livestreaming content doesn\u2019t really compare to the static content on Instagram or TikTok. But there have been a few competitors popping up very recently. How is Twitch staying on top of that?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t mean to be dismissive or anything, but there\u2019s always been times in the history of Twitch when there are competitors. And the way that we lead through that is the same thing, which is, if we are the best place to be a live content creator, then folks will continue to choose us. Communities will continue to show up for them. And that\u2019s the best way for us to maintain our position.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It also seems like other platforms are really pushing the fact that you can get higher revenue splits from them, but it seems like Twitch leans on the pull of investing in its community.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

We\u2019re really intentional about it. I mean, TwitchCon is a huge investment in the community. And we do it twice a year. But we also support community meetups. We support them financially, provide software, we got to those meetups.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We have guild groups<\/a> that started this year, where we built groups for Black women and Latin streamers. They\u2019re run and overseen by streamers who applied and were hired into these positions. They\u2019re paid roles to help cultivate community, provide support and safe spaces.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Access to Twitch community is a key part of my job for marketing. It\u2019s a huge pillar of our work. Let\u2019s make sure we are where streamers are, whether that\u2019s online, IRL, let\u2019s try to facilitate collaborations for them. And give them as many opportunities to connect with one another and their fans as humanly possible. Just like community happens on Twitch, it\u2019s also a huge part of our marketing strategy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n