Why was PewDiePie banned on Twitch? Streaming community speculates on possible reason behind ban

On March 9, 2023, internet icon Felix "PewDiePie's" Twitch channel was mysteriously banned for the first time. The update came via the automated Twitter account, StreamerBans. While neither the content creator nor the channel administrator has issued a statement regarding the incident, numerous community members on Reddit and Twitter have speculated on a plausible reason.

Some Redditors suggested that the infamous "bridge incident" was accidentally broadcasted during the 24/7 livestream, while others speculated that the action was the result of Twitch's recent branded content policy.

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"This might have to do with the branded content policy" - Netizens speculate on PewDiePie's first Twitch ban

PewDiePie's Twitch channel went live after years of inactivity in March 2023. It has been streaming "Always On" and Just Chatting content.

The channel primarily loops the content creator's old YouTube videos. Here's what its description reads:

"∞ Official PewDiePie Infinity Stream ∞ By popular request you can now watch my vids on a forever loop. (This is an official rerun channel. This channel plays PewDiePie YouTube videos 24/7/365/∞x∞)"

After three months of 24/7 broadcasts, the channel was mysteriously banned from the Amazon-owned platform. The following message appeared when accessing the Swedish personality's account (as of May 9, 2023):

"Temporary Unavailability" message that appears on the streamer's channel, as of May 9, 2023 (Image via Twitch)

The update was shared on the r/LivestreamFail subreddit, and it quickly became a hot topic of conversation. With the reaction thread amassing over 61 responses, Redditor u/paperhaha called the situation the "bridge incident."

Another community member suggested that the ban was the result of recent changes to the branded content policy, which went into effect a few weeks ago. They provided a link to a Twitch blog post that elaborated:

"Branded content is any content produced by streamers featuring products or services based on an exchange of value, such as being paid or receiving goods or services. Sometimes these types of deals are referred to as paid product placements, endorsements, or sponsorships."

Some examples of branded content on Twitch include:

"Product placements, endorsements, sponsored gameplay, paid product unboxings, channel sponsorships, branded channel panels, and brand logo stream overlays."

Reddit user u/tourguide1337 agreed, claiming that "99%" of the content creator's videos include a sponsored segment:

Meanwhile, one Redditor assumed that the streamer was banned because he uses "infinite VODs (Video on Demand)":

Some of the more relevant comments were along these lines:

The Twitter community also weighed in on the ban, and here's what they had to say:

PewDiePie currently boasts 1,520,367 followers on his 24/7 channel, averaging over 560 viewers per stream. Several popular Twitch streamers follow his channel including Nick "Nmplol," EsfandTV, Joshua "Zerkaa," and Quackity.