Twitch bans “waiting room” streams to stop fan-run rebroadcasts that take views from original creators. Reaction content and IRL streams remain unaffected.
BollywoodFever: Twitch is cracking down on “waiting room” streams, which rebroadcast content from other creators without adding original commentary.
As of September 13, the platform announced that these types of streams would no longer be allowed under its policies, categorizing them as “Impersonation.
The decision is aimed at addressing the rise of fan-run rebroadcasts, which the platform says pull views and revenue away from the original channel owners.
“Waiting rooms” often replay past streams from popular creators like Valorant star Tenz or political streamer Hasan without adding anything new to the content.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Twitch explained, “Moving forward, ‘waiting rooms’ won’t be allowed on Twitch under our policies – reportable under ‘Impersonation.’
To help ensure we enforce accurately, we’ll look at different factors such as stream title and channel bio, as well as whether we’ve received a report from the channel being impersonated.”
While reaction streams, which include active commentary, are still allowed, Twitch is giving a grace period before fully enforcing the new rule.
Some “waiting room” streams are still live, but it is expected that channel owners will soon face suspensions if they do not comply.
Importantly, the ban does not affect “waiting rooms” for game updates or new content releases, nor does it apply to IRL streamers broadcasting from actual waiting rooms, such as in hospitals.
As Twitch continues to evolve its platform to protect creators’ content, it will be interesting to see how fan-run channels adapt, possibly by incorporating original commentary or AI-generated content to stay within the rules.
This change follows other content restrictions Twitch has made in 2024, including a ban on streams with a “prolonged” focus on intimate body parts.
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