What is ad-free Channel Switcher? Twitch rolls out new way to discover streams

After last year's experimentation with the same features, Twitch has revealed the implementation of the brand-new ad-free Channel Switcher, which is slated to help viewers discover more streams in a more hassle-free way. As evident from the name, the feature should be totally ad-free, meaning viewers trying to find new streams on the platform will not be bothered by promotions and ad breaks while browsing channels.

Discoverability has been on the list of priorities for some time now, with the website having promised streamers and users that they will be bringing out features that should ideally help small streamers grow more organically. The official Twitch Support Twitter page announced that some users should already be able to use the new Channel Switcher.

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What unique features does the new ad-free Channel Switcher bring to Twitch?

As mentioned in the post, the feature was briefly experimented with last year in July and had many people talking about the potential good it could do for the platform. Not much has changed since then, with the Twitter thread mentioning some of the key options that are being brought by the feature.

Viewers acquainted with the layout of Twitch's 'Browse' page will remember how non-interactive it is when looking for channels under a category. Channel growth is mostly dependent on what game or genre a streamer is making content about, giving the browse page enormous potential for viewers seeking the same.

While previously, users would have to click on a stream and sometimes wait for an ad to play to see the actual stream, the new ad-free Channel Switcher will allow them to see a short uninterrupted preview of streams in a mini-player at the top of the page. At any moment, they can click away to the other streams under the category in a seamless fashion to check out other channels.

By doing this, the ad-free Channel Switcher should ideally increase channel interactions, especially for smaller streamers with no established viewer base on Twitch. However, only time will tell if it actually helps, as it has only been released to a small number of people at the moment.