Twitch announces reversal of controversial branded content policy following widespread backlash

Twitch has been facing a massive backlash after announcing its new ad and sponsorship rules for branded content. Many popular streamers are leading the charge to either boycott or outright leave the platform to force its hand to revert the rules. The Amazon-owned company has now announced that it will be walking back the new guidelines.

Acknowledging that the new rules were not good for streamers as they hindered sponsored content and would directly affect their revenue streams, Twitch has rolled back most of the most controversial parts of the guidelines. The platform said:

"Yesterday, we released new Branded Content Guidelines that impacted your ability to work with sponsors to increase your income from streaming. These guidelines are bad for you and bad for Twitch, and we are removing them immediately."

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Which of the Twitch sponsorship guidelines were reversed? Everything you need to know about the new branded content

The guidelines initially laid down had been called too restrictive by many streamers. Even MrBeast weighed in on the issue, saying he might stream on a competitor's platform in protest.

While there are a number of different rules, the focus of the scandal is on these four guidelines pertaining to the format of sponsored content on stream:

No burned-in Video ads in streams
No burned-in audio ads in streams
No burned-in display ads in streams
Branded logos burned into the stream during sponsored content should not cross 3% of the screen size

However, not everything has been reverted. Many other guideline updates, such as all the other restrictions on content that cannot be promoted, remain.

Here are all the items and/or services that streamers may not advertise on the platform:

Hateful and illegal products
Gambling products, such as promoting online slots
Weapons and adult products
Tobacco, cannabis, and related products
Any medical product, be it prescription drugs or otherwise
Some financial products and scam-like services, including MLM and get-rich-quick schemes
No advertised political content such as the promotion of parties, individuals, or issues of public debate

Other things that have not been addressed or reverted have been pointed out by people. These include the simulcasting and exclusivity clause, which dictates that even non-partner streamers may not multi-stream to other Twitch-like platforms. Ninja, one of the major streamers who currently simulcasts, has called the purple platform out for this.

Additionally, it appears that the Amazon-owned company still reserves the right to control advertisements on streams to a certain degree.

About the author

Richik has been specializing in streamer content at Sportskeeda for over 2 years. He also manages a group of writers who craft relevant news and features about content creators on platforms like Twitch, Kick, and Rumble. Prior to Sportskeeda, he interned at The Ken and worked as a reviewer at Blacksof where he fact-checked educational content.

Richik’s love for writing, researching, and archiving, along with his inquisitive nature and longstanding love for video games led him to pursue a career as a gaming journalist. He relies on primary sources for accurate information and ensures that his drafts are proofread, fact-checked, and well-researched.

As a child, Richik spent many a summer vacation playing the 1994 Road Rash with his cousins. Although more of an FPS and open-world fiend now, Richik enjoys single-player RPGs with compelling storytelling, such as The Last of Us franchise, and regularly teams up with his friends to play multiplayer titles like Valorant on PC.

Richik enjoys watching streamer and former esports athlete Shroud, and also finds inspiration in MrBeast's journey to become one of the most well-known content creators worldwide. Interviewing English-Somali YouTuber Sharky, a member of the renowned Beta Squad, was a career highlight for him.

When not writing, Richik likes to read, watch a movie or a game of football.

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Edited by Rachel Syiemlieh