Twitch reveals working on a feature to make ads "less interruptive"

On December 15, the official Twitch Support Twitter handle revealed that the platform is working on a new feature for Stream Display Ads that will make the advertisements "less interruptive."

Furthermore, the announcement included a GIF of the upcoming feature. The ad banner in the updated version of the Theater Mode was observed to be marginally smaller, whereas the video player was comparatively larger.

The feature announcement read:

"We're experimenting with an update to Stream Display Ads to make them less interruptive! Select viewers will get an update for Theater Mode as seen below. Keep an eye out for this new update over the next few weeks."

The update continued further, with Twitch revealing that this experiment will also be coming to Desktop Mode:

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Streaming community reacts to Twitch's new update to Stream Display Ads

The announcement received plenty of attention, with several community members joining the conversation thread to share their thoughts. Partnered content creator, Battery3996 stated that he would be "happy with this type of ad," claiming that non-interruptive ads are the "best:"

VTuber Midnight commented:

Twitter user @IntonerAlice wondered if the new ad system would replace the controversial midroll ads:

The update was well-received by streamer HamNCheddar, who stated that he would "turn these on" to help with the platform's operational costs:

A community member shared their sentiments and commented:

Here are some more relevant fan reactions:

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Why is Twitch experimenting with ads?

The prevalence of numerous ads on Twitch has been a topic of controversy for quite some time now, with several prominent streamers speaking about it.

In a now-deleted livestream from July 15, One True King (OTK) co-founder Zack "Asmongold" claimed that ads on the livestreaming platform are "cannibalistic" towards content:

"I wish that the ads were not... The difference between like YouTube and Twitch ads is that Twitch ads are cannibalistic towards the content."

The World of Warcraft gamer compared Twitch to YouTube and discussed how the latter does a better job of running advertisements during the broadcast. He stated:

"Like, if you're watching an ad, you're actively not watching the content. It's like, imagine if a YouTube video was 10 minutes long and an ad plays for 15 seconds and that last 10 seconds or 15 seconds. You can't go back and watch again. That's so bad! That's what the problem is."

During a livestream on March 26, YouTube Gaming star Thomas "Sykkuno" experienced an excessive number of advertisements first-hand. While watching Felix "xQc" and Imane "Pokimane" play Monopoly, Sykkuno received five ads in a row, perplexing the content creator:

Pokimane also commented on the matter and claimed that the ads should not obstruct the viewing experience and should not directly interfere with the livestream.