Twitch is one of the most popular streaming sites in the world, and there are now more than 15 million daily active users. To say that it has only been in existence for nine years, these figures are highly impressive. Gamers have found that it is now possible to make a living through streaming on Twitch, with the main source of their income arriving from advertising. However, some viewers have complained that the platform is becoming too saturated with ads, claiming that it is damaging the experience.
Ads Can be Extremely Disruptive
Anyone enjoying a service online for free should be well aware that there will be ads. The only way to avoid being subjected to regular commercials would be to pay for a premium service. With options like YouTube and Twitch, though, the vast majority of users go for the free versions. This is because there isn’t much difference in the content available to those who pay and those who don’t.
Adverts are almost accepted as a part of YouTube, and they are usually not too off-putting. This is because most of the time, they will occur at the start of a video and allow users to skip after a few seconds. On Twitch, however, the ads can appear at random in the middle of a stream. Because gamers are playing live, this could cause viewers to miss a vital piece of action within the game. For this reason, the ads are considered to be quite disruptive.
Targeting Can be Obvious
Aside from disrupting the gameplay of streamers, viewers have complained about the obvious targeting of the ads that appear on Twitch streams. The way that marketers try to identify with gamers has often been referred to as cringe-worthy. There are lengthy Reddit feeds discussing which the most annoying ads are, with plenty of different opinions on the matter. An example of one of the most awkward ads is the Bud Light video that celebrates Twitch mods.
There Are Ways to Block The Ads
Ever since Twitch became overloaded with ads, viewers have been looking for ways to avoid this disruption to the videos they watch. Luckily, there are some useful tools online that show how to block ads on Twitch. This is done through an ad blocker such as AdBlock Plus. It’s easy to install an extension that can be used with any internet browser. There are also other things you can do depending if you watch Twitch on iOS or Android.
Twitch has grown wise to some ad blockers and has tried to make sure that the tools can’t stop ads entirely. However, these ad blockers have proven useful in reducing the number of ads shown. They can also sometimes convert the ad to a blank screen so viewers don’t see any of the annoying, targeted ads.
If Twitch continues to ramp up the number of ads it shows to its viewers, it could be at risk of losing some of them. For those who don’t want to watch on a different platform, ad blockers will be key to maintaining enjoyment.