Twitch has announced it is experimenting with a new ad format, with mid-roll ads starting to appear on the platform.
Twitch currently serves pre-roll ads, which are triggered by Twitch, as opposed to the creator.
Although creators have previously delivered mid-roll ads, this marks the first time Twitch has delivered these ads.
“Beginning in September, as part of an ad experiment, some viewers may begin to notice that they are receiving ads during streams that others in a channel aren’t receiving,” Twitch said in a statement.
“Creators will be paid for every one of these ads that run, just like they’re paid for pre-rolls and ad breaks that they run. And, we’ve enabled Picture-by-Picture in all channel categories, so viewers can enjoy an uninterrupted ad-viewing experience.”
The experiment is only targetting “a small portion of viewers”.
Like other mid-roll ads on Twitch, subscribers won’t see these ads, nor will Turbo users.
Twitch users have started to share these ads on social media.
twitch with automatic midroll ads pic.twitter.com/uJ07w6Cfl6
— Mason (@ggHellohi) September 16, 2020
While these mid-roll ads mark a new opportunity for creators to monetise their content, Twitch will be extra cautious in avoiding viewer disruption.
Twitch already informs viewers in advance of when an advert is coming to ensure the disruption is minimal.
As part of the experiment, Twitch is seeking feedback on the initiative from its community via its User Voice platform.
Already, 4,874 viewers have voted to remove these mid-roll ads.
