One of the central goals of countless Twitch streamers is to become a Twitch partner: a lofty achievement that welcomes streamers “into the club,” so to speak. Twitch partners get priority customer service, tons of extra customization options, and, best of all, a chance to finally start making money off of their streams. The challenge comes from accumulating enough followers and regular viewers to jump from “streaming as a hobby” to full-blown Twitch partner. The company announced today that they were trying to do something about that gap with the introduction of the Twitch Affiliate program.
The Twitch Affiliate program will serve as a bridge from beginning streamer to partner, a stepping stone that allows smaller streamers to get a taste of the perks that partners receive. Unlike Twitch partners, there is no application process. Eligible streamers will be invited by Twitch itself, and the program will start rolling out soon. You can view their own announcement here, but to be eligible for an invitation, streamers will need:
- At least 500 broadcast minutes in the last 30 days
- At least 7 unique broadcast days in the last 30 days
- An average of 3 concurrent viewers or more over the last 30 days
- At least 50 Twitch followers
If streamers meet all these requirements, Twitch will send them an email inviting them to the Affiliate program. Once that invitation is accepted, some of the benefits of being a Twitch Partner will be unlocked, such as cheering with bits, advertisements to raise money, and subscriptions. Some of these will be more limited than in the Partnership program, but it is still a step in the right direction. Twitch obviously wants to remain the central player in the streaming community, and they seem to be betting that the Affiliate program will help keep smaller streamers from looking elsewhere.
Excited about the Affiliate program? Think it’s a step in the right direction for Twitch? Let us know in the comments below.
