Twitch has long thrived as the leading platform for livestreamers, be it hardcore gamers or more socially driven personalities honing their craft as influencers in real time.
But when your platform has nearly 2.5 million viewers in 2023 watching a stream at any given time, it also necessitates partnering with outside brands alongside the home turf of individual streamers.
Rachel Delphin, chief marketing officer at Twitch, has that balance to maintain both on and off the platform, and it’s the latter that really demonstrates the power of the community through events like the semi-annual TwitchCon, which ran in Paris back in July and will see its U.S. event take place in Las Vegas this October.
“The IRL element of that is really, really powerful and meaningful, when we bring people together at TwitchCon, they’ve been friends for months or they’ve been friends for years,” said Delphin in a conversation for Variety’s Strictly Business podcast. “I think it really deepens those bonds, and then they go back to the community building and nurturing and connection that they have online.”
Acquired by Amazon in 2014 for nearly $1 billion after launching in 2011, Twitch has a lot of power behind it to attract brands to the service and allow them to do their own community building.
“Lots of brands wanna be there,” she said while stressing the importance of authenticity in the presence of brands. “It’s about contributing to the community, it’s about being a participant in the community, it’s about supporting creators within those communities, and that is received really positively.”
But despite its popularity, competitors still vie for Twitch’s command of hours viewed and streamed. Microsoft’s Mixer tried and failed to do so for a short period of time before shutting down in 2020, though its exclusive deal with top streamer Ninja did kick off a new era of exclusivity deals that Twich continues to utilize to keep talent on its service.
However, new competitor Kick has entered the mix, offering its own deals to top talent while toting higher revenue shares for streamers and more lax moderation. While the 50-50 revenue split Twitch is known for remains controversial to some, Delphin asserted that Twitch’s domination of the space will continue on account of its dedication to community safety.
“They’re cultivating the kind of community that they want on top of the rules that we have already established and enforce,” Delphin said with regard to streamers on Twitch.
Prioritizing the user experience for streamers and their fans is certainly a priority, but when almost 90% of your core demographic is Gen Z and millennials, behavioral management can’t be ignored, especially when younger streamers are less experienced with commanding a newly found fanbase.
21-year-old Twitch streamer Kai Cenat, the second-most subscribed channel on the platform, has been charged with inciting a riot and unlawful assembly by the NYPD after a giveaway event he hastily arranged on his own in Manhattan’s Union Square Park turned violent, resulting in multiple injuries and more than 60 arrests; Cenat has since apologized through his AMP influencer group.
Per Delphin, Twitch’s combination of maintaining safety at its own events and on the platform, alongside its existing monetization for creators, remains a winning strategy.
“If our service is the safest place to be a live content creator, to be the place where you can find and build and gather a thriving community, and to do so with the best options and ways to monetize, if the latter thing is your thing, then that’s how we’ll win,” she said.
For more of Delphin’s thoughts on how Twitch can stay competitive with the likes of TikTok Lives and whether generative AI poses any implication for the platform, listen to the full conversation above.
“Strictly Business” is Variety’s weekly podcast featuring conversations with industry leaders about the business of media and entertainment. A new episode debuts each Wednesday and can be downloaded on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher and SoundCloud.
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